PAN 


HENR.YK 
SlEMl^IEWICZ 


POPULAR. -EDITION 


O 


THE    WORKS   OF 

HENRYK    SIENKIEWICZ. 

AUTHORIZED  UNABRIDGED  TRANSLATIONS  BY 
JEREMIAH  CURTIN. 

LIBRARY   EDITION. 


l^tstorical  i&otnanccs. 

Poland,  Turkey,   Russia,  and  Sweden. 

WITH  FIRE  AND  SWORD,    i  vol. 
THE  DELUGE.    2  vols. 
PAN  MICHAEL,    i  vol. 

Rome  in  the  time  of  Nero. 
"QUOVADIS."     i  vol. 

Notels  of  fHoHem  ISolanU. 
CHILDREN  OF  THE  SOIL,    i  vol. 
WITHOUT  DOGMA.    (Translated  by  Iza  Young.) 
i  vol. 

j&fyort  Stones. 

MANIA,  and  Other  Stories,    i  vol. 
SIELANKA,  A  FOREST  PICTURE,  and  Other  Stories, 
i  vol.  

ON  THE  BRIGHT  SHORE,    i  vol. 
LET  Us  FOLLOW  HIM.    i  vol. 
*»*  The  above  two  are  also  included  in  the  volume 
entitled  "  Hania." 

YANKO  THE  MUSICIAN,  and  Other  Stories,    i  vol. 
LILLIAN  MORRIS,  and  Other  Stories,    i  vol. 

***  The  tales  and  sketches  included  in  these  two 
volumes  are  now  reprinted  with  others  by  Sienkie- 
wicz  in  the  volume  entitled  "  Sielanka,  a  Forest 
Picture,  and  Other  Stories." 


popular  <£t»iticm. 


PAN  MICHAEL. 

BY 

HENRYK   SIENKIEWICZ. 


Since  Saint  Michael  leads  the  whole  host  of  heaven, 
and  has  gained  so  many  victories  over  the  banners  of  hell, 
I  prefer  him  as  a  patron. —  THE  DELUGE,  Vol.  I,  p.  120. 


PAN    MICHAEL. 


Historical 

OF 

POLAND,  THE    UKRAINE,  AND    TURKEY. 

A    SEQUEL   TO 
"WITH  FIRE  AND   SWORD"  AND   "THE   DELUGE." 

BY 

HENRYK  SIENKIEWICZ. 


AUTHORIZED  AND    UNABRIDGED    TRANSLATION   FROM 
THE   POLISH   BY 

JEREMIAH    CURTIN. 


BOSTON: 
LITTLE,  BROWN,  AND  COMPANY. 

1898. 


Copyriyht,  1893,  1898, 
BY  JEREMIAH   CURTIX 


All  rights  reserved. 


JOHN  WILSON  AND  SON,  CAMBRIDGE,  U.S.A. 


TO 

JOHN  MURRAY   BROWN,  ESQ. 

MY  DEAR  BROWN, — You  read  "With  Fire  and  Sword"  in  manuscript; 
you  appreciated  its  character,  and  your  House  published  it.  What  you  did  for 
the  first,  you  did  later  on  for  the  other  two  parts  of  the  trilogy.  Remembering 
your  deep  interest  in  all  the  translations,  I  beg  to  inscribe  to  you  the  concluding 
volume,  "  Pan  Michael." 


JEREMIAH   CURTIN. 


VALENTIA  ISLAND,  WEST  COAST  OF  IRELAND, 
August.  15.  1893. 


2037866 


From  the  author  of  "Quo  VADIS. 

VCrl"      0LtH/t 


ail)    ConihAiHf  ,     C,,t//ttiHtt 


hattMi)     dy    Ji. 


fa    ft>u!    HQ.U.U  t    J  hL\v<.    tiu    /Lone  eft    la    T>tcf+tt,f    tfaf 
Iiu((/f4/i0/t    *t  {fat,   novels    h    ^Ixi   jiutft'f/ittS 
ittit     4.0jfl/i/tf   my    uji'lf   ^O  itifcnjf.    fa  f-a-t,  a 
J    f  AH  Jiff  f     hn{    A    lead   stop     tc   fteir    lmfa-t\a 
ottert.    li^l  J  think  j  tk&t  jmtfi'c    optm*«    /'•/   $*tlL  &> 
liis   c#.i£.    7*/r,    ///<     /vfefe    of    (av  .  </,'ui<: 

Cotli.ve.,'oJ    hbnifr     is     Jo     k''*A  fy     )t**&J*ll   ./«• 


t    /ruA/    , 


INTRODUCTION. 


THE  great  struggle  begun  by  the  Cossacks,  and,  after  the 
victory  at  Korsun,  continued  by  them  and  the  Kussian 
population  of  the  Commonwealth,  is  described  in  "  With 
Fire  and  Sword,"  from  the  ambush  on  the  Omelnik 1  to  the 
battle  of  Berestechko.  In  "The  Deluge"  the  Swedish 
invasion  is  the  argument,  and  a  mere  reference  is  made  to 
the  war  in  which  Moscow  and  the  Ukraine  are  on  one  side 
and  the  Commonwealth  on  the  other.  In  "  Pan  Michael," 
the  present  volume  and  closing  work  of  the  trilogy,  the 
invader  is  the  Turk,  whose  forces,  though  victorious  at 
Kamenyets,  are  defeated  at  Hotin. 

"  With  Fire  and  Sword  "  covers  the  war  of  1648-49,  which 
was  ended  at  Zborovo,  where  a  treaty  most  hateful  to  the 
Poles  was  concluded  between  the  Cossacks  and  the  Com- 
monwealth. In  the  second  war  there  was  only  one  great, 
action,  that  of  Berestechko  (1651),  an  action  followed  by 
the  treaty  of  Belaya  Tserkoff,  oppressive  to  the  Cossacks 
and  impossible  of  execution. 

The  main  event  in  the  interval  between  Berestechko  and 
the  war  with  Moscow  was  the  siege  and  peace  of  Jvanyets, 
of  which  mention  is  made  in  the  introduction  to  "  With 
Fire  and  Sword." 

After  Jvanyets  the  Cossacks  turned  to  Moscow  and  swore 
allegiance  to  the  Tsar  in  1654 ;  in  that  year  the  war  was 
begun  to  which  reference  is  made  in  "The  Deluge."  In 

1  "  With  Fire  and  Sword,"  page  4. 


X  INTRODUCTION. 

addition  to  the  Cossack  cause  Moscow  had  questions  of  her 
own,  and  invaded  the  Commonwealth  with  two  separate 
armies  ;  of  these  one  moved  on  White  Russia  and  Lithuania, 
the  other  joined  the  forces  of  Hmelnitski. 

Moscow  had  rapid  and  brilliant  success  in  the  north. 
Smolensk,  Orsha,  and  Vityebsk  were  taken  in  the  opening 
campaign,  as  were  Vilno,  Kovno,  and  Grodno  in  the  fol- 
lowing summer.  In  1655  White  Russia  and  nearly  all 
Lithuania  came  under  the  hand  of  the  Tsar. 

In  view  of  Moscow's  great  victories,  Karl  Gustav  made  a 
sudden  descent  on  the  Commonwealth.  The  Swedish 
monarch  became  master  of  Great  and  Little  Poland  almost 
without  a  blow.  Yan  Kazimir  fled  to  Silesia,  and  a  majority 
of  the  nobles  took  the  oath  to  Karl  Gustav. 

Moving  from  the  Ukraine,  Hmelnitski  and  Buturlin,  the 
Tsar's  voevoda,  carried  all  before  them  till  they  encamped 
outside  Lvoff ;  there  the  Cossack  hetman  gave  audience  to 
an  envoy  from  Yan  Kazimir,  and  was  persuaded  to  with- 
draw with  his  army,  thus  leaving  the  king  one  city  in  the 
Commonwealth,  a  great  boon,  as  was  evident  soon  after. 

When  Swedish  success  was  almost  perfect,  and  the 
Commonwealth  seemed  lost,  the  Swedes  laid  siege  to  Chen- 
stohova.  The  amazing  defence  of  that  sanctuary  roused 
religious  spirit  in  the  Poles,  who  had  tired  of  Swedish 
rigor;  they  resumed  allegiance  to  Yan  Kazimir,  who 
returned  and  rallied  his  adherents  at  Lvoff,  the  city  spared 
by  Hmelnitski.  In  the  attempt  to  strike  his  rival  in  that 
capital  of  Red  Russia,  K§,rl  Gustav  made  the  swift  though 
calamitous  march  across  Poland  which  Sienkiewicz  has 
described  in  "  The  Deluge  "  so  vividly. 

Soon  after  his  return  from  Silesia,  the  Polish  king  sent 
an  embassy  to  the  Tsar.  Austria  sent  another  to  strengthen 
it  and  arrange  a  treaty  or  a  truce  on  some  basis. 

Yan  Kazimir  was  eager  for  peace  with  Moscow  at  any 
price,  especially  a  price  paid  in  promises.  The  Tsar 
desired  peace  on  terms  that  would  give  the  Russian  part 


INTRODUCTION.  XI 

of  the  Commonwealth  to  Moscow,  Poland  proper  to  become 
a  hereditary  kingdom  in  which  the  Tsar  himself  or  his  heir 
would  succeed  Yan  Kazimir,  and  thus  give  to  both  States 
the  same  sovereign,  though  different  administrations. 

An  agreement  was  effected  :  the  sovereign  or  heir  of 
Moscow  was  to  succeed  Yan  Kazimir,  details  of  boundaries 
and  succession  to  be  settled  by  the  Diet,  both  sides  to 
refrain  from  hostilities  till  the  Swedes  were  expelled,  and 
neither  to  make  peace  with  Sweden  separately. 

Austria  forced  the  Swedish  garrison  out  of  Cracow,  and 
then  induced  the  Elector  of  Brandenburg  to  desert  Sweden. 
She  did  this  by  bringing  Poland  to  grant  independence  to 
Princely,  that  is,  Eastern  Prussia,  where  the  elector  was 
duke  and  a  vassal  of  the  Commonwealth.  The  elector, 
who  at  that  time  held  the  casting  vote  in  the  choice  of 
Emperor,  agreed  in  return  for  the  weighty  service  which 
Austria  had  shown  him  to  give  his  voice  for  Leopold,  who 
had  just  come  to  the  throne  in  Vienna. 

Austria,  having  secured  the  imperial  election  at  Poland's 
expense,  took  no  further  step  on  behalf  of  the  Common- 
wealth, but  disposed  troops  in  Southern  Poland  and  secured 
her  own  interests.  The  Elector,  to  make  his  place  certain  in 
the  final  treaty,  took  active  part  against  Sweden.  Peace 
was  concluded  in  1657  and  ratified  in  1660  at  Oliva.  With 
the  expulsion  of  the  Swedes  the  historical  part  of  "  The 
Deluge  "  is  ended,  no  further  reference  being  made  to  the 
main  war  between  the  Commonwealth  and  Moscow. 

Since  the  Turkish  invasion  described  in  "  Pan  Michael " 
was  caused  by  events  in  this  main  war,  a  short  account  of 
its  subsequent  course  and  its  connection  with  Turkey  is  in 
order  in  this  place. 

Bogdan  Hmelnitski  dreaded  the  truce  between  Moscow 
and  Poland.  He  feared  lest  the  Poles,  outwitting  the  Tsar, 
might  recover  control  of  the  Cossacks ;  hence  he  joined 
the  alliance  which  Karl  Gustav  had  made  with  Rakotsy  in 
1657  to  dismember  the  Commonwealth.  Rakotsy  was 


Xii  INTRODUCTION. 

defeated,  and  the  alliance  failed ;  both  Moscow  and  Austria 
were  opposed  to  it. 

In  1657  Hinelnitski  died,  and  was  succeeded  as  hetman 
by  Vygovski,  chancellor  of  the  Cossack  army,  though  Yuri, 
the  old  hetraan's  son,  had  been  chosen  during  his  father's 
last  illness.  Vygovski  was  a  noble,  with  leanings  toward 
Poland,  though  his  career  was  firm  proof  that  he  loved 
himself  better  than  any  cause. 

In  the  following  year  the  new  hetman  made  a  treaty  at 
Gadyach  with  the  Commonwealth,  and  in  conjunction  with 
a  Polish  army  defeated  Prince  Trubetskoi  in  a  battle  at 
Konotop.  The  Polish  Diet  annulled  now  the  terms  of  the 
treaty  concluded  with  Moscow  two  years  before.  Various 
reasons  were  alleged  for  this  action  ;  the  true  reason  was 
that  in  1655  the  succession  to  the  Polish  crown  had  been 
offered  to  Austria,  and,  though  refused  in  public  audience, 
had  been  accepted  in  private  by  the  Emperor  for  his  son 
Leopold.  In  the  following  year  Austria  advised  the  Poles 
unofficially  to  offer  this  crown  (already  disposed  of)  to  the 
Tsar,  and  thus  induce  him  to  give  the  Commonwealth  a 
respite,  and  turn  his  arms  against  Sweden. 

The  Poles  followed  this  advice ;  the  Tsar  accepted  their 
offer.  When  the  service  required  had  been  rendered  the 
treaty  was  broken.  In  the  same  year,  however,  Vygovski 
was  deposed  by  the  Cossacks,  the  treaty  of  Gadyach  rejected, 
and  Yuri  Hmelnitski  made  hetman.  The  Cossacks  were 
again  in  agreement  with  Moscow;  but  the  Poles  spared 
no  effort  to  bring  Yuri  to  their  side,  and  they  succeeded 
through  the  deposed  hetman,  Vygovski,  who  adhered  to 
the  Commonwealth  so  far. 

Both  sides  were  preparing  their  heaviest  blows  at  this 
juncture,  and  1660  brought  victory  to  the  Poles.  In  the 
beginning  of  that  year  Moscow  had  some  success  in  Lithu- 
ania, but  was  forced  back  at  last  toward  Smolensk.  The 
best  Polish  armies,  trained  in  the  Swedish  struggle,  and 
leaders  like  Charnyetski,  Sapyeha,  arid  Kmita,  turned  the 


INTRODUCTION.  XlH 

scale  in  White  Russia.  In  the  Ukraine  the  Poles,  under 
Lyubomirski  and  Pototski,  were  strengthened  by  Tartars 
and  met  the  forces  of  .Moscow  under  Sheremetyeff,  with  the 
Cossacks  under  Yuri  Hmelnitski.  At  the  critical  moment, 
and  during  action,  Yuri  deserted  to  the  Poles,  and  secured 
the  defeat  of  Sheremetyeff,  who  surrendered  at  Chudnovo 
and  was  sent  a  Tartar  captive  to  the  Crimea. 

In  all  the  shifting  scenes  of  the  conflict  begun  by  the 
resolute  Bogdan,  there  was  nothing  more  striking  than  the 
conduct  and  person  of  Yuri  Hmelnitski,  who  renounced  all 
the  work  of  his  father.  Great,  it  is  said,  was  the  wonder 
of  the  Poles  when  they  saw  him  enter  their  camp.  Bogdan 
Hmelnitski,  a  man  of  iron  will  and  striking  presence,  had 
tilled  the  whole  Commonwealth  with  terror ;  his  son  gave 
way  at  the  very  first  test  put  upon  him,  and  in  person  was, 
as  the  Poles  said,  a  dark,  puny  stripling,  more  like  a  timid 
novice  in  a  monastery  than  a  Cossack.  In  the  words  of  the 
captive  voevoda,  Sheremetyeff,  he  was  better  fitted  to  be  a 
gooseherd  than  a  hetman. 

The  Polish  generals  thought  now  that  the  conflict  was 
over,  and  that  the  garrisons  of  Moscow  would  evacuate  the 
Ukraine;  but  they  did  not.  At  this  juncture  the  Polish 
troops,  unpaid  for  a  long  time,  refused  service,  revolted, 
formed  what  they  called  a  <rsacred  league,"  and  lived  on  the 
country.  The  Polish  army  vanished  from  the  field,  and 
after  it  the  Tartars.  Young  Hmelnitski  turned  again  to 
Moscow,  and  writing  to  the  Tsar,  declared  that,  forced  by- 
Cossack  colonels,  he  had  joined  the  Polish  king,  but  wished 
to  return  to  his  former  allegiance.  Whatever  his  wishes 
may  have  been,  he  did  not  escape  the  Commonwealth ; 
stronger  men  than  he,  and  among  them  Vygovski,  kept  him 
well  in  hand.  The  Ukraine  was  split  into  two  camps :  that 
west  of  the  river,  or  at  least  the  Cossacks  under  Yuri 
Hmelnitski,  obeyed  the  Commonwealth ;  the  Eastern  bank 
adhered  to  Moscow. 

Two  years   later,   Yuri,   the   helpless   hetman,  left   his 


xiv  INTRODUCTION. 

office  and  took  refuge  in  a  cloister.  He  was  succeeded  by 
Teterya,  a  partisan  of  Poland,  which  now  made  every 
promise  to  the  leading  Cossacks,  not  as  in  the  old  time  when 
the  single  argument  was  sabres. 

East  of  the  Dnieper  another  hetman  ruled ;  but  there  the 
Poles  could  take  no  part  in  struggles  for  the  office.  The 
rivalry  was  limited  to  partisans  of  Moscow.  Besides  the 
two  groups  of  Cossacks  on  the  Dnieper,  there  remained  the 
Zaporojians.  Teterya  strove  to  win  these  to  the  Common- 
wealth, and  Yan  Kazimir,  the  king,  assembled  all  the  forces 
he  could  rally  and  crossed  the  Dnieper  toward  the  end  of 
1663.  At  first  he  had  success  in  some  degree,  but  in  the 
following  year  led  back  a  shattered,  hungry  army. 

Teterya  had  received  a  promise  from  the  Zaporojians  that 
they  would  follow  the  example  of  the  Eastern  Ukraine. 
The  king  having  failed  in  his  expedition,  Teterya  declared 
that  peace  must  be  concluded  between  the  Commonwealth 
and  Moscow  to  save  the  Ukraine;  that  the  country  was 
reduced  to  ruin  by  all  parties,  neither  one  of  which  could 
subjugate  the  other;  and  that  to  save  themselves  the  Cossacks 
would  be  forced  to  seek  protection  of  the  Sultan.  • 

Doroshenko  succeeded  Teterya  in  the  hetinan's  office,  and 
began  to  carry  out  this  Cossack  project.  In  1666  he  sent  a 
message  to  the  Porte  declaring  that  the  Ukraine  was  at  the 
will  of  the  Sultan. 

The  Sultan  commanded  the  Khan  to  march  to  the 
Ukraine.  Toward  the  end  of  that  year  the  Tartars  brought 
aid  to  the  Cossacks,  and  the  joint  army  swept  the  field  of 
Polish  forces. 

Meanwhile  negotiations  had  been  pending  a  long  time 
between  the  Commonwealth  and  Moscow.  An  insur- 
rection under  Lyubomirski  brought  the  Poles  to  terms 
touching  boundaries  in  the  north.  In  the  south  Moscow 
demanded,  besides  the  line  of  the  Dnieper,  Kieff  and  a 
certain  district  around  it  on  the  west.  This  the  Poles 
refused  stubbornly  till  Doroshenko's  union  with  Turkey 


INTRODUCTION.  XV 

induced  them  to  yield  Kieff  to  Moscow  for  two  years.  On 
this  basis  a  peace  of-  twenty  years  was  concluded  in  1667, 
at  Andrussoff  near  Smolensk.  This  peace  became  perma- 
nent afterward,  and  Kieff  remained  with  Moscow. 

In  1668  Yan  Kazimir  abdicated,  hoping  to  secure  the 
succession  to  a  king  in  alliance  with  France,  and  avoid  a 
conflict  with  Turkey  through  French  intervention.  No 
foreign  candidate,  however,  found  sufficient  support,  and 
Olshovski,1  the  crafty  and  ambitious  vice-chancellor,  pro- 
posed at  an  opportune  moment  Prince  Michael  Vishnyevet- 
ski,  son  of  the  renowned  Yererni,  and  he  was  elected  in 
1669.  The  new  king,  of  whom  a  short  sketch  is  given 
in  "The  Deluge"  (Vol.  II.  page  253),  was,  like  Yuri  Hmel- 
nitski,  the  imbecile  son  of  a  terrible  father.  Elected  by 
the  lesser  nobility  in  a  moment  of  spite  against  magnates, 
he  found  no  support  among  the  latter.  Without  merit  or 
influence  at  home,  he  sought  support  in  Austria,  and  mar- 
ried a  sister  of  the  Emperor  Leopold.  Powerless  in  dealing 
with  the  Cossacks,  to  whom  his  name  was  detestable,  with- 
out friends,  except  among  the  petty  nobles,  whose  support 
in  that  juncture  was  more  damaging  than  useful,  he  made  a 
Turkish  war  certain.  It  came  three  years  later,  when  the 
Sultan  marched  to  support  Doroshenko,  and  began  the  siege 
of  Kamenyets,  described  in  "  Pan  Michael." 

After  the  fall  of  Kamenyets,  the  Turks  pushed  on  to 
Lvoff,  and  dictated  the  peace  of  Buchach,  which  gave 
Podolia  and  the  western  bank  of  the  Dnieper,  except  Kieff 
and  its  district,  to  the  Sultan. 

The  battle  of  Hotin,  described  in  the  epilogue,  made 
Sobieski  king  in  1674.  This  election  was  considered  a 
triumph  for  France,  an  enemy  of  Austria  at  that  time ;  and 
during  the  earlier  years  of  his  reign  Sobieski  was  on  the 
French  side,  and  had  sound  reasons  for  this  policy.  In 
1674  the  Elector  of  Brandenburg  attacked  Swedish  Pome- 
rania ;  France  supported  Sweden,  and  roused  Poland  to 

1  The  bishop  who  visited  Zagloba  at  Ketling's  house,  see  pages  121-126 


Xvi  INTRODUCTION. 

oppose  the  Elector,  who  had  fought  against  Yan  Kazimir, 
his  own  suzerain.  Sobieski,  supported  by  subsidies  from 
France,  made  levies  of  troops,  went  to  Dantzig  in  1677, 
concluded  with  Sweden  a  secret  agreement  to  make  common 
cause  with  her  and  attack  the  Elector.  But  in  spite  of 
subsidies,  preparations,  and  treaties,  the  Polish  king  took 
no  action.  Sweden,  without  an  ally,  was  defeated ;  Poland 
lost  the  last  chance  of  recovering  Prussia,  and  holding 
thereby  an  independent  position  in  Europe. 

The  influence  of  Austria,  the  power  of  the  church,  and 
the  intrigues  of  his  own  wife,  bore  away  Sobieski.  He 
deserted  the  alliance  with  France.  To  the  end  of  his  life 
he  served  Austria  far  better  than  Poland,  though  not  wish- 
ing to  do  so,  and  died  in  1696  complaining  of  this  world,  in 
which,  as  he  said,  "  sin,  malice,  and  treason  are  rampant." 

JEREMIAH  CURTIK. 
CAHIRCIVEEN,  COUNTY  KERRY,  IRELAND, 
August  17,  1893. 


NOTE. The  reign  of  Sobieski  brought  to  an  end  that  part  of 

Polish  history  during  which  the  Commonwealth  was  able  to  take 
the  initiative  in  foreign  politics.  After  Sobieski  the  Poles  ceased 
to  be  a  positive  power  in  Europe. 

I  have  not  been  able  to  verify  the  saying  said  to  have  been  uttered 
by  Sobieski  at  Vienna.  In  the  text  (page  401)  he  is  made  to  say 
that  Paul  Wojnina  (War's  wife)  may  give  birth  to  people,  but 
Wojna  (War)  only  destroys  them.  Who  the  Pani  Wojnina  was 
that  Sobieski  had  in  view  I  am  unable  to  say  at  this  moment,  unless 
she  was  Peace. 


PAN    MICHAEL. 


CHAPTER  I. 

AFTER  the  close  of  the  Hungarian  war,  when  the  marriage 
of  Pan  Andrei  Kinita  and  Panna  Aleksandra  Billevich  was 
celebrated,  a  cavalier,  equally  meritorious  and  famous  in  the 
Commonwealth,  Pan  Michael  Volodyovski,  colonel  of  the 
Lauda  squadron,  was  to  enter  the  bonds  of  marriage  with 
Panna  Anna  Borzobogati  Krasienski. 

But  notable  hindrances  rose,  which  delayed  and  put  back 
the  affair.  The  lady  was  a  foster-daughter  of  Princess 
Griselda  Vishnyevetski,  without  whose  permission  Panna 
Anna  would  in  no  wise  consent  to  the  wedding.  Pan 
Michael  was  forced  therefore  to  leave  his  affianced  in 
Vodokty,  by  reason  of  the  troubled  times,  and  go  alone  to 
Zamost  for  the  consent  and  the  blessing  of  the  princess. 

But  a  favoring  star  did  not  guide  him :  he  did  not  find  the 
princess  in  Zamost ;  she  had 'gone  to  the  imperial  court  in 
Vienna  for  the  education  of  her  son.  The  persistent 
knight  followed  her  even  to  Vienna,  though  that  took 
much  time.  When  he  had  arranged  the  affair  there  suc- 
cessfully, he  turned  homeward  in  confident  hope. 

He  found  troubled  times  at  home  :  the  army  was  forming 
a  confederacy ;  in  the  Ukraine  uprisings  continued  ;  at  the 
eastern  boundary  the  conflagration  had  not  ceased.  New 
forces  were  assembled  to  defend  the  frontiers  even  in  some 
fashion.  Before  Pan  Michael  had  reached  Warsaw,  he 
received  a  commission  issued  by  the  voevoda  of  Rus. 
Thinking  that  the  country  should  be  preferred  at  all 
times  to  private  affairs,  he  relinquished  his  plan  of  im- 
mediate marriage  and  moved  to  the  Ukraine.  He  cam- 
paigned in  those  regions  some  years,  living  in  battles,  in 
unspeakable  hardships  and  labor,  having  barely  a  chance 
on  occasions  to  send  letters  to  the  expectant  lady. 


2  PAN  MICHAEL. 

Next  he  was  envoy  to  the  Crimea;  then  came  the 
unfortunate  civil  war  with  Pan  Lyubomirski,  in  which 
Volodyovski  fought  on  the  side  of  the  king  against  that 
traitor  and  infamous  man ;  then  he  went  to  the  Ukraine  a 
second  time  under  Sobieski. 

From  these  achievements  the  glory  of  his  name  increased 
in  such  manner  that  he  was  considered  on  all  sides  as  the 
first  soldier  of  the  Commonwealth,  but  the  years  were 
passing  for  him  in  anxiety,  sighs,  and  yearning.  At  last 
1668  came,  when  he  was  sent  at  command  of  the  castellan 
to  rest;  at  the  beginning  of  the  year  he  went  for  the 
cherished  lady,  and  taking  her  from  Vodokty,  they  set  out 
for  Cracow. 

They  were  journeying  to  Cracow,  because  Princess  Gri- 
selda,  who  had  returned  from  the  dominions  of  the  em- 
peror, invited  Pan  Michael  to  have  the  marriage  at  that 
place,  and  offered  herself  to  be  mother  to  the  bride. 

The  Kmitas  remained  at  home,  not  thinking  to  receive 
early  news  from  Pan  Michael,  and  altogether  intent  on  a 
new  guest  that  was  coming  to  Vodokty.  Providence  had 
till  that  time  withheld  from  them  children ;  now  a 
change  was  impending,  happy  and  in  accordance  with 
their  wishes. 

That  year  was  surpassingly  fruitful.  Grain  had  given  such 
a  bountiful  yield  that  the  barns  could  not  hold  it,  and  the 
whole  land,  in  the  length  and  the  breadth  of  it,  was  covered 
with  stacks.  In  neighborhoods  ravaged  by  war  the  young 
pine  groves  had  grown  in  one  Spring  more  than  in  two  years 
at  other  times.  There  was  abundance  of  game  and  of 
mushrooms  in  the  forests,  as  if  the  unusual  fruitfulness  of 
the  earth  had  been  extended  to  all  things  that  lived  on  it. 
Hence  the  friends  of  Pan  Michael  drew  happy  omens  for 
his  marriage  also,  but  the  fates  ordained  otherwise. 


PAN  MICHAEL. 


CHAPTER   II. 

ON  a  certain  beautiful  day  of  autumn  Pan  Andrei  Kmita 
was  sitting  under  the  shady  roof  of  a  summer-house  and 
drinking  his  after-dinner  mead;  he  gazed  at  his  wife  from 
time  to  time  through  the  lattice,  which  was  grown  over  with 
wild  hops.  Pani  Kmita  was  walking  on  a  neatly  swept 
path  in  front  of  the  summer-house.  The  lady  was  un- 
usually stately;  bright-haired,  with  a  face  serene,  almost 
angelic.  She  walked  slowly  and  carefully,  for  there  was  in 
her  a  fulness  of  dignity  and  blessing. 

Pan  Andrei  gazed  at  her  with  intense  love.  When  she 
moved,  his  look  turned  after  her  with  such  attachment  as 
a  dog  shows  his  master  with  his  eyes.  At  moments  he 
smiled,  for  he  was  greatly  rejoiced  at  sight  of  her,  and  he 
twirled  his  mustache  upward.  At  such  moments  there 
appeared  on  his  face  a  certain  expression  of  glad  frolic- 
someness.  It  was  clear  that  the  soldier  was  fun-loving 
by  nature,  and  in  years  of  single  life  had  played  many  a 
prank.  . 

Silence  in  the  garden  was  broken  only  by  the  sound  of 
over-ripe  fruit  dropping  to  the  earth  and  the  buzzing  of 
insects.  The  weather  had  settled  marvellously.  It  was  the 
beginning  of  September.  The  sun  burned  no  longer  with 
excessive  violence,  but  cast  yet  abundant  golden  rays.  In 
these  rays  ruddy  apples  were  shining  among  the  gray 
leaves  and  hung  in  such  numbers  that  they  hid  the  branches. 
The  limbs  of  plum-trees  were  bending  under  plums  with 
bluish  wax  on  them. 

The  first  movement  of  air  was  shown  by  the  spider- 
threads  fastened  to  the  trees-,  these  swayed  with  a  breeze 
so  slight  that  it  did  not  stir  even  the  leaves. 

Perhaps  it  was  that  calm  in  the  world  which  had  so  filled 
Pan  Kmita  with  joyfulness,  for  his  face  grew  more  radiant 
each  moment.  At  last  he  took  a  draught  of  mead  and 
gaid  to  his  wife, — 

"  Olenka,  but  come  here  !     I  will  tell  yon  something." 

"  It  may  be  something  that  I  should  not  like  to  hear.'* 

"  As  God  is  dear  to.  me,  it  is  not.    Give  me  your  ear." 


4  PAN  MICHAEL. 

Saying  this,  he  seized  her  by  the  waist,  pressed  his 
mustaches  to  her  bright  hair,  and  whispered,  "If  a  boy, 
let  him  be  Michael." 

She  turned  away  with  face  somewhat  flushed,  and  whis- 
pered, "  But  you  promised  not  to  object  to  Heraclius." 

"  Do  you  not  see  that  it  is  to  honor  Volodyovski  ?  " 

"  But  should  not  the  first  remembrance  be  given  to  my 
grandfather  ?  " 

"  And  my  benefactor  —  H'm  !  true  —  but  the  next  will 
be  Michael.  It  cannot  be  otherwise." 

Here  Olenka,  standing  up,  tried  to  free  herself  from  the 
arms  of  Pan  Andrei;  but  he,  gathering  her  in  with  still 
greater  force,  began  to  kiss  her  on  the  lips  and  the  eyes, 
repeating  at  the  same  time,  — 

"  0  thou  my  hundreds,  my  thousands,  my  dearest  love  !  " 

Further  conversation  was  interrupted  by  a  lad  who  ap- 
peared at  the  end  of  the  walk  and  ran  quickly  toward  the 
summer-house. 

"  What  is  wanted  ?  "  asked  Kmita,  freeing  his  wife. 

"  Pan  Khaiiamp  has  come,  and  is  waiting  in  the  parlor," 
said  the  boy. 

"And  there  he  is  himself ! "  exclaimed  Kmita,  at  sight  of 
a  man  approaching  the  summer-house.  "  For  God's  sake, 
how  gray  his  mustache  is  !  Greetings  to  you,  dear  comrade  ! 
greetings,  old  friend  !  " 

With  these  words  he  rushed  from  the  summer-house, 
and  hurried  with  open  arms  toward  Pan  Kharlamp.  But 
first  Pan  Kharlamp  bowed  low  to  Olenka,  whom  he  had 
seen  in  old  times  at  the  court  of  Kyedani ;  then  he  pressed 
her  hand  to  his  enormous  mustache,  and  casting  himself 
into  the  embraces  of  Kmita,  sobbed  on  his  shoulder. 

"  For  God's  sake,  what  is  the  matter  ?  "  cried  the  aston- 
ished host. 

"  God  has  given  happiness  to  one  and  taken  it  from  an- 
other," said  Kharlamp.  "  But  the  reasons  of  my  sorrow  I 
can  tell  only  to  you." 

Here  he  looked  at  Olenka ;  she,  seeing  that  he  was  unwill- 
ing to  speak  in  her  presence,  said  to  her  husband,  "  I  will 
send  mead  to  you,  gentlemen,  and  now  I  leave  you." 

Kmita  took  Pan  Kharlamp  to  the  summer-house,  and 
seating  him  on  a  bench,  asked,  "  What  is  the  matter  ? 
Are  you  in  need  of  assistance  ?  Count  on  me  as  on 
Zavisha  ! " l 

1  A  celebrated  bishop  of  Cracow,  famous  for  ambition  and  success. 


PAN   MICHAEL.  5 

"  Nothing  is  the  matter  with  me,"  said  the  old  soldier, 
"and  I  need  no  assistance  while  I  can  move  this  hand  and 
this  sabre ;  but  our  friend,  the  most  worthy  cavalier  in  the 
Commonwealth,  is  in  cruel  suffering.  I  know  not  whether 
he  is  breathing  yet." 

"  By  Christ's  wounds  !  Has  anything  happened  to 
Volodyovski  ?  " 

"Yes,"  said  Kharlatnp,  giving  way  to  a  new  outburst  of 
tears.  "  Know  that  Panna  Anna  Borzobogati  has  left  this 
vale  —  " 

"  Is  dead ! "  cried  Kmita,  seizing  his  head  with  both 
hands. 

"  As  a  bird  pierced  by  a  shaft." 

A  moment  of  silence  followed,  —  no  sound  but  that  of 
apples  dropping  here  and  there  to  the  ground  heavily,  and 
of  Pan  Kharlamp  panting  more  loudly  while  restraining  his 
weeping.  But  Kmita  was  wringing  his  hands,  and  repeated, 
nodding  his  head,  — 

"  Dear  God  !  dear  God  !  dear  God  ! " 

"  Your  grace  will  not  wonder  at  my  tears,"  said  Khar- 
lamp,  at  last ;  "  for  if  your  heart  is  pressed  by  unendurable 
pain  at  the  mere  tidings  of  what  happened,  what  must  it  be 
to  me,  who  was  witness  of  her  death  and  her  pain,  of  her 
suffering,  which  surpassed  every  natural  measure  ?  " 

Here  the  servant  appeared,  bringing  a  tray  with  a  decan- 
ter and  a  second  glass  on  it ;  after  him  came  Kmita's  wife, 
who  could  not  repress  her  curiosity.  Looking  at  her  hus- 
band's face  and  seeing  in  it  deep  suffering,  she  said 
straightway,  — 

"  What  tidings  have  you  brought  ?  Do  not  dismiss  me. 
I  will  comfort  you  as  far  as  possible,  or  I  will  weep  with 
you,  or  will  help  you  with  counsel." 

"  Help  for  this  will  not  be  found  in  your  head,"  said 
Pan  Andrei ;  "  and  I  fear  that  your  health  will  suffer  from 
sorrow." 

"  I  can  endure  much.  It  is  more  grievous  to  live  in 
uncertainty." 

"  Anusia  is  dead,"  said  Kmita. 

Olenka  grew  somewhat  pale,  and  dropped  on  the  bench 
heavily.  Kmita  thought  that  she'  would  faint;  but  grief 
acted  more  quickly  than  the  sudden  announcement,  and 
she  began  to  weep.  Both  knights  accompanied  her  imme- 
diately. 

"  Olenka,"  said  Kmita,  at  last,  wishing  to  turn  his  wife's 


6  PAN  MICHAEL. 

thoughts  in  another  direction,  "do  you  not  think  that  she 
is  in  heaven  ?  " 

"  Not  for  her  do  I  weep,  but  over  the  loss  of  her,  and  over 
the  loneliness  of  Pan  Michael.  As  to  her  eternal  happiness, 
I  should  wish  to  have  such  hope  for  my  own  salvation  as  I 
have  for  hers.  There  was  not  a  worthier  maiden,  or  one  of 
better  heart,  or  more  honest.  0  my  Anulka! 1  my  Anulka, 
beloved! " 

"  I  saw  her  death,"  said  Kharlamp  ;  "  may  God  grant  us 
all  to  die  with  such  piety  ! " 

Here  silence  followed,  as  if  some  of  their  sorrow  had 
gone  with  their  tears ;  then  Kmita  said,  "  Tell  us  how  it 
was,  and  take  some  mead  to  support  you." 

"  Thank  you,"  said  Kharlamp  ;  "  I  will  drink  from  time 
to  time  if  you  will  drink  with  me ;  for  pain  seizes  not  only 
the  heart,  but  the  throat,  like  a  wolf,  and  when  it  seizes  a 
man  it  might  choke  him  unless  he  received  some  assistance. 
I  was  going  from  Chenstohova  to  my  native  place  to  settle 
there  quietly  in  my  old  age.  I  have  had  war  enough ;  as 
a  stripling  I  began  to  practise,  and  now  my  mustache  is 
gray.  If  I  cannot  stay  at  home  altogether,  I  will  go  out 
under  some  banner ;  but  these  military  confederations  to  the 
loss  of  the  country  and  the  profit  of  the  enemy,  and  these 
civil  wars,  have  disgusted  me  thoroughly  with  arms.  Dear 
God !  the  pelican  nourishes  its  children  with  its  blood,  it  is 
true  ;  but  this  country  has  no  longer  even  blood  in  its 
breast.  Sviderski2  was  a  great  soldier.  May  God  judge 
him!" 

"My  dearest  Anulka!"  interrupted  Pani  Kmita,  with 
weeping,  "  without  thee  what  would  have  happened  to  me 
and  to  all  of  us  ?  Thou  wert  a  refuge  and  a  defence  to  me  ! 
0  my  beloved  Anulka !  " 

Hearing  this,  Kharlamp  sobbed  anew,  but  briefly,  for 
Kmita  interrupted  him  with  a  question,  "But  where  did 
you  meet  Pan  Michael  ?  " 

"  In  Chenstohova,  where  he  and  she  intended  to  rest,  for 
they  were  visiting  the  shrine  there  after  the  journey.  He 
told  me  at  once  how  he  was  going  from  your  place  to  Cra- 
cow, to  Princess  Griselda,  without  whose  permission  and 
blessing  Anusia  was  unwilling  to  marry.  The  maiden 
was  in  good  health  at  that  time,  and  Pan  Michael  was  as 

1  A  diminutive  of  endearment  for  Anna.     Anusia  is  another  form. 

2  One  of  the  chiefs  of  a  confederacy  formed  against  the  king,  Yan 
Kaziinir,  by  soldiers  who  had  not  received  their  pay. 


PAN   MICHAEL.  7 

joyful  as  a  bird.  <  See,'  said  he,  '  the  Lord  God  has  given 
me  a  reward  for  my  labor  ! '  He  boasted  also  not  a  little,  — 
God  comfort  him  !  —  and  joked  with  me  because  I,  as  you 
know,  quarrelled  with  him  on  a  time  concerning  the  lady, 
and  we  were  to  fight  a  duel.  Where  is  she  now,  poor 
woman  ?  " 

Here  Kharlamp  broke  out  again,  but  briefly,  for  Kmita 
stopped  him  a  second  time :  "  You  say  that  she  was  well  ? 
How  oame  the  attack,  then,  so  suddenly  ?  " 

"That  it  was  sudden,  is  true.  She  was  lodging  with 
Pani  Martsin  Zamoyski,  who,  with  her  husband,  was 
spending  some  time  in  Chenstohova.  Pan  Michael  used 
to  sit  all  the  day  with  her ;  he  complained  of  delay  some- 
what, and  said  they  might  be  a  whole  year  on  the  journey 
to  Cracow,  for  every  one  on  the  way  would  detain  him. 
And  this  is  no  wonder  !  Every  man  is  glad  to  entertain  such 
a  soldier  as  Pan  Michael,  and  whoever  could  catch  him 
would  keep  him.  He  took  me  to  the  lady  too,  and  threat- 
ened smilingly  that  he  would  cut  me  to  pieces  if  I  made 
love  to  her;  but  he  was  the  whole  world  to  her.  At  times, 
too,  my  heart  sank,  for  my  own  sake,  because  a  man  jn  old 
age  is  like  a  nail  in  a  wall.  Never  mind  !  But  one  night 
Pan  Michael  rushed  in  to  me  in  dreadful  distress :  '  In 
God's  name,  can  you  find  a  doctor  ? '  '  What  has  hap- 
pened ? '  '  The  sick  woman  knows  no  one  ! '  '  When  did  she 
fall  ill  ?  '  asked  I.  '  Pani  Zamoyski  has  just  given  me  word/ 
replied  he.  '  It  is  night  now.  Where  can  I  look  for  a  doc- 
tor, when  there  is  nothing  here  but  a  cloister,  and  in  the 
town  more  ruins  than  people  ?'  I  found  a  surgeon  at  last, 
and  he  was  even  unwilling  to  go  ;  I  had  to  drive  him  with 
weapons.  But  a  priest  was  more  needed  then  than  a  sur- 
geon ;  we  found  at  her  bedside,  in  fact,  a  worthy  Paulist, 
who,  through  prayer,  had  restored  her  *{)  consciousness. 
She  was  able  to  receive  the  sacrament,  and  take  an  affecting 
farewell  of  Pan  Michael.  At  noon  of  the  following  day 
it  was  all  over  with  her.  The  surgeon  said  that  some  one 
must  have  given  her  something,  though  that  is  impossible,  for 
witchcraft  has  no  power  in  Chenstohova.  But  what  hap- 
pened to  Pan  Michael,  what  he  said,  —  my  hope  is  that  the 
Lord  Jesus  will  not  account  this  to  him,  for  a  man  does  not 
reckon  with  words  when  pain  is  tearing  him.  You  see,"  Pan 
Kharlamp  lowered  his  voice,  Ci  he  blasphemed  in  his  forget- 
fulness." 

"  For  God's  sake,  did  he  blaspheme  ?  "  inquired  Kmita,  in 
a  whisper. 


8  PAN  MICHAEL. 

"He  rushed  out  from  her  corpse  to  the  ante-chamber, 
from  the  ante-chamber  to  the  yard,  and  reeled  about  like  a 
drunken  man.  He  raised  his  hands  then,  and  began  to  cry 
with  a  dreadful  voice  :  '  Such  is  the  reward  for  my  wounds, 
for  my  toils,  for  my  blood,  for  my  love  of  country  !  I  had 
one  lamb,'  said  he,  '  and  that  one,  0  Lord,  Thou  didst  take 
from  me.  To  hurl  down  an  armed  man,'  said  he,  'who 
walks  the  earth  in  pride,  is  a  deed  for  God's  hand ;  but 
a  cat,  a  hawk,  or  a  kite  can  kill  a  harmless  dove,  and  — ' " 

"  By  the  wounds  of  God !  "  exclaimed  Pani  Kmita,  "  say 
no  more,  or  you  will  draw  misfortune  on  this  house." 

Kharlamp  made  the  sign  of  the  cross  and  continued, 
"  The  poor  soldier  thought  that  he  had  done  service,  and 
still  this  was  his  reward.  Ah,  God  knows  better  what  He 
does,  though  that  is  not  to  be  understood  by  man's  reason, 
nor  measured  by  human  justice.  Straightway  after  this 
blasphemy  he  grew  rigid  and  fell  on  the  ground ;  and  the 
priest  read  an  exorcism  over  him,  so  that  foul  spirits  should 
not  enter  him,  as  they  might,  enticed  by  his  blasphemy." 

"  Did  he  come  to  himself  quickly  ?  " 

"  He  lay  as  if  dead  about  an  hour ;  then  he  recovered  and 
went  to  his  room  ;  he  would  see  no  one.  At  the  time  of  the 
burial  I  said  to  him,  'Pan  Michael,  have  God  in  your  heart.' 
He  made  me  no  answer.  I  stayed  three  days  more  in  Chen- 
stohova,  for  I  was  loath  to  leave  him ;  but  I  knocked  in  vain 
at  his  door.  He  did  not  want  me.  I  struggled  with  my 
thoughts :  what  was  I  to  do,  —  try  longer  at  the  door,  or  go 
away  ?  How  was  I  to  leave  a  man  without  comfort  ?  But 
finding  that  I  could  do  nothing,  I  resolved  to  go  to  Pan 
Yan  Skshetuski.  He  is  his  best  friend,  and  Pan  Zagloba 
is  his  friend  also ;  maybe  they  will  touch  his  heart  some- 
how, and  especially  Pan  Zagloba,  who  is  quick-witted,  and 
knows  how  to  talk  over  any  man." 

"  Did  you  go  to  Pan  Yan  ?  " 

"  I  did,  but  God  gave  no  luck,  for  he  and  Zagloba  had 
gone  to  Kalish  to  Pan  Stanislav.  No  one  could  tell  when 
they  would  return.  Then  I  thought  to  myself, '  As  my  road 
is  toward  Jmud,  I  will  go  to  Pan  Kmita  and  tell  what  has 
happened.' " 

"  I  knew  from  of  old  that  you  were  a  worthy  cavalier," 
said  Kmita. 

"  It  is  not  a  question  of  me  in  this  case,  but  of  Pan 
Michael,"  said  Kharlamp ;  "  and  I  confess  that  I  fear  for 
him  greatly  lest  his  mind  be  disturbed." 


PAN   MICHAEL.  9 

"  God  preserve  him  from  that !  "  said  Pani  Kmita. 

"  If  God  preserves  him,  he  will  certainly  take  the  habit, 
for  I  tell  you  that  such  sorrow  I  have  never  seen  in  my 
life.  And  it  is  a  pity  to  lose  such  a  soldier  as  he,  —  it  is  a 
pity!" 

"  How  a  pity  ?  The  glory  of  God  will  increase  thereby," 
said  Pani  Kmita. 

Kharlamp's  mustache  began  to  quiver,  and  he  rubbed  his 
forehead. 

"  Well,  gracious  benefactress,  either  it  will  increase  or  it 
will  not  increase.  Consider  how  many  Pagans  and  here- 
tics he  has  destroyed  in  his  life,  by  which  he  has  surely 
delighted  our  Saviour  and  His  Mother  more  than  any  one 
priest  could  with  sermons.  H'm  !  it  is  a  thing  worthy  of 
thought !  Let  every  one  serve  the  glory  of  God  as  he  knows 
best.  Among  the  Jesuits  legions  of  men  may  be  found 
wiser  than  Pan  Michael,  but  another  such  sabre  as  his 
there  is  not  in  the  Commonwealth." 

"  True,  as  God  is  dear  to  me  !  "  cried  Kmita.  "  Do  you 
know  whether  he  stayed  in  Chenstohova  ?  " 

"  He  was  there  when  I  left ;  what  he  did  later,  I  know 
not.  I  know  only  this :  God  preserve  him  from  losing  his 
mind,  God  preserve  him  from  sickness,  which  frequently 
comes  with  despair,  —  he  will  be  alone,  without  aid,  without 
a  relative,  without  a  friend,  without  consolation." 

"  May  the  Most  Holy  Lady  in  that  place  of  miracles  save 
thee,  faithful  friend,  who  hast  done  so  much  for  me  that  a 
brother  could  not  have  done  more  ! " 

Pani  Kmita  fell  into  deep  thought,  and  silence  continued 
long ;  at  last  she  raised  her  bright  hend,  and  said,  "  Yendrek, 
do  you  remember  how  much  we  owe  him  ?  " 

"  If  I  forget,  I  will  borrow  eyes  from  a  dog,  for  I  shall 
not  dare  to  look  an  honest  man  in  the  face  with  my  own 
eyes." 

"  Yendrek,  you  cannot  leave  him  in  that  state." 

"  How  can  I  help  him  ?  " 

"  Go  to  him." 

"  There  speaks  a  woman's  honest  heart ;  there  is  a  noble 
woman,"  cried  Kharlamp,  seizing  her  hands  and  covering 
them  with  kisses. 

But  the  advice  was  not  to  Kmita's  taste ;  hence  he  began 
to  twist  his  head,  and  said,  "  I  would  go  to  the  ends  of  the 
earth  for  him,  but  —  you  yourself  know  —  if  you  were 
well  —  I  do  not  say  —  but  you  know.  God  preserve  you 


10  PAN  MICHAEL. 

from  any  accident !  I  should  wither  away  from  anxiety  — 
A  wife  is  above  the  best  friend.  I  am  sorry  for  Pan  Michael 
but  —  you  yourself  know  —  " 

"  I  vail  remain  under  the  protection  of  the  Lauda  fathers. 
It  is  peaceful  here  now,  and  I  shall  not  be  afraid  of  any 
small  thing.  Without  God's  will  a  hair  will  not  fall  from 
my  head  ;  and  Pan  Michael  needs  rescue,  perhaps." 

"  Oi,  he  needs  it !  "  put  in  Kharlamp. 

"  Yendrek,  I  am  in  good  health.  Harm  will  come  to  me 
from  no  one ;  I  know  that  you  are  unwilling  to  go  —  " 

"  I  would  rather  go  against  cannon  with  an  oven-stick ! " 
interrupted  Kmita. 

"If  you  stay,  do  you  think  it  will  not  be  bitter  for  you 
here  when  you  think,  '  I  have  abandoned  my  friend'  ?  and 
besides,  the  Lord  God  may  easily  take  away  His  blessing  in 
His  just  wrath." 

"  You  beat  a  knot  into  my  head.  You  say  that  He  may 
take  away  His  blessing  ?  I  fear  that." 

"  It  is  a  sacred  duty  to  save  such  a  friend  as  Pan 
Michael." 

"I  love  Michael  with  iny  whole  heart.  The  case  is  a 
hard  one  !  If  there  is  need,  there  is  urgent  need,  for  every 
hour  in  this  matter  is  important.  I  will  go  at  once  to  the 
stables.  By  the  living  God,  is  there  no  other  way  out  of  it  ? 
The  Evil  One  inspired  Pan  Yan  and  Zagloba  to  go  to  Kalish. 
It  is  not  a  question  with  me  of  myself,  but  of  you,  dearest. 
I  would  rather  lose  all  I  have  than  be  without  you  one  day. 
Should  any  one  say  that  I  go  from  you  not  on  public  ser- 
vice, I  would  plant  my  sword-hilt  in  his  mouth  to  the  cross. 
Duty,  you  say  ?  Let  it  be  so.  He  is  a  fool  who  hesitates. 
If  this  were  for  any  one  else  but  Michael,  I  never  should 
do  it." 

Here  Pan  Andrei  turned  to  Kharlamp.  "  Gracious  sir,  I 
beg  you  to  come  to  the  stable ;  we  will  choose  horses.  And 
you,  Olenka,  see  that  my  trunk  is  ready.  Let  some  of 
the  Lauda  men  look  to  the  threshing.  Pan  Kharlamp,  you 
must  stay  with  us  even  a  fortnight ;  you  will  take  care  of 
my  wife  for  me.  Some  land  may  be  found  for  you  here 
in  the  neighborhood.  Take  Lyubich  !  Come  to  the  stable. 
I  will  start  in  an  hour.  If  't  is  needful,  't  is  needful ! " 


MICHAEL. 


CHAPTER  III. 

SOME  time  before  sunset  Pan  Kmita  set  out,  blessed  by  his 
tearful  wife  with  a  crucifix,  in  which  splinters  of  the  Holy 
Cross  were  set  in  gold ;  and  since  during  long  years  the 
knight  had  been  inured  to  sudden  journeys,  when  he 
started,  he  rushed  forth  as  if  to  seize  Tartars  escaping  with 
plunder. 

When  he  reached  Vilno,  he  held  on  through  Grodno  to 
Byalystok,  and  thence  to  Syedlets.  In  passing  through 
Lukov,  he  learned  that  Pan  Yan  had  returned  the  day  pre- 
vious from  Kalish  with  his  wife  and  children,  Pan  Zagloba 
accompanying.  He  determined,  therefore,  to  go  to  them ;  for 
with  whom  could  he  take  more  efficient  counsel  touching  the 
rescue  of  Pan  Michael  ? 

They  received  him  with  surprise  and  delight,  which  were 
turned  into  weeping,  however,  when  he  told  them  the  cause 
of  his  coming. 

Pan  Zagloba  was  unable  all  day  to  calm  himself,  and  shed 
so  many  tears  at  the  pond  that,  as  he  said  himself  after- 
ward, the  pond  rose,  and  they  had  to  lift  the  flood-gate. 
But  when  he  had  wept  himself  out,  he  thought  deeply;  and 
this  is  what  he  said  at  the  council,  — 

"  Yan,  you  cannot  go,  for  you  are  chosen  to  the  Chapter ; 
there  will  be  a  multitude  of  cases,  as  after  so  many  wars 
the  country  is  full  of  unquiet  spirits.  From  what  you 
relate,  Pan  Kmita,  it  is  clear  that  the  storks 1  will  remain 
in  Vodokty  all  winter,  since  they  are  on  the  work-list  and 
must  attend  to  their  duties.  It  is  no  wonder  that  with  such 
housekeeping  you  are  in  no  haste  for  the  journey,  especially 
since  't  is  unknown  how  long  it  may  last.  You  have  shown 
a  great  heart  by  coining;  but  if  I  am  to  give  earnest  advice,  I 
will  say  :  Go  home ;  for  in  Michael's  case  a  near  confidant  is 
called  for,  —  one  who  will  not  be  offended  at  a  harsh  answer, 
or  because  there  is  no  wish  to  admit  him.  Patience  is  need- 
ful, and  long  experience ;  and  your  grace  has  only  friendship 
for  Michael,  which  in  such  a  contingency  is  not  enough. 

1  The  story  in  Poland  is  that  storks  bring  all  the  infants  to  the  country. 


12  TAN  MICHAEL. 

But  be  not  offended,  for  you  must  confess  that  Yan  and  1 
are  older  friends,  and  have  passed  through  more  adventures 
with  him  than  you  have.  Dear  God !  how  many  are  the 
times  in  which  I  saved  him,  and  he  me,  from  disaster ! " 

"I  will  resign  my  functions  as  a  deputy,"  interrupted 
Pan  Yan. 

"  Yan,  that  is  public  service ! "  retorted  Zagloba,  with 
sternness. 

"God  sees,"  said  the  afflicted  Pan  Yan,  "that  I  love  my 
cousin  Stanislav  with  true  brotherly  affection ;  but  Michael 
is  nearer  to  mo  than  a  brother." 

"  He  is  nearer  to  me  than  any  blood  relative,  especially 
since  I  never  had  one.  It  is  not  the  time  now  to  discuss 
our  affection.  Do  you  see,  Yan,  if  this  misfortune  had 
struck  Michael  recently,  perhaps  I  would  say  to  you,  '  Give 
the  Chapter  to  the  Devil,  and  go  ! '  But  let  us  calculate  how 
much  time  has  passed  since  Kharlamp  reached  Jmud  from 
Chenstohova,  and  while  Pan  Andrei  was  coining  from  Jmud 
here  to  us.  Now,  it  is  needful  not  only  to  go  to  Michael, 
but  to  remain  with  him  ;  not  only  to  weep  with  him,  but  to 
persuade  him  ;  not  only  to  show  him  the  Crucified  as  an 
example,  but  to  cheer  his  heart  and  mind  with  pleasant 
jokes.  So  you  know  who  ought  to  go,  —  I !  and  I  will  go, 
so  help  me  God !  If  I  find  him  in  Chenstohova,  I  will  bring 
him  to  this  place  ;  if  I  do  not  find  him,  I  will  follow  him 
even  to  Moldavia,  and  I  will  not  cease  to  seek  for  him  while 
I  am  able  to  raise  with  my  own  strength  a  pinch  of  snuff  to 
my  nostrils." 

When  they  had  heard  this,  the  two  knights  fell  to  embrac- 
ing Pan  Zagloba ;  and  he  grew  somewhat  tender  over  the 
misfortune  of  Pan  Michael  and  his  own  coming  fatigues. 
Therefore  he  began  to  shed  tears ;  and  at  last,  when  he  had 
embraces  enough,  he  said,  — 

"  But  do  not  thank  me  for  Pan  Michael ;  you  are  not 
nearer  to  him  than  I." 

"  Not  for  Pan  Michael  do  we  thank  you,"  said  Kmita ; 
"  but  that  man  must  have  a  heart  of  iron,  or  rather  one  not 
at  all  human,  who  would  be  unmoved  at  sight  of  your  readi- 
ness, which  in  the  service  of  a  friend  makes  no  account  of 
fatigue  and  has  no  thought  for  age.  Other  men  in  your 
years  think  only  of  a  warm  corner ;  but  you  speak  of  a  long 
journey  as  if  you  were  of  my  years  or  those  of  Pan  Yan." 

Zagloba  did  not  conceal  his  years,  it  is  true;  but,  in 
general,  he  did  not  wish  people  to  mention  old  age  as  an 


PAN  MICHAEL.  13 

attendant  of  incapability.  Hence,  though  his  eyes  were 
still  red,  he  glanced  quickly  and  with  a  certain  dissatis- 
faction at  Kmita,  and  answered,  — 

"  My  dear  sir,  when  my  seventy-seventh  year  was  begin- 
ning, my  heart  felt  a  slight  sinking,  because  two  axes1  were 
over  my  neck  ;  but  when  the  eighth  ten  of  years  passed 
me,  such  courage  entered  my  body  that  a  wife  tripped  into 
my  brain.  And  had  I  married,  we  might  see  who  would  be 
first  to  have  cause  of  boasting,  you  or  I." 

"  I  am  not  given  to  boasting,"  said  Kmita ;  "  but  I  do  not 
spare  praises  on  your  grace." 

"And  I  should  have  surely  confused  you  as  I  did  Revera 
Pototski,  the  hetman,  in  presence  of  the  king,  when  he 
jested  at  my  age.  I  challenged  him  to  show  who  could 
make  the  greatest  number  of  goat-springs  one  after  the 
other.  And  what  came  of  it  ?  The  hetman  made  three  ;  the 
haiduks  had  to  lift  him,  for  he  could  not  rise  alone  ;  and  I 
went  all  around  with  nearly  thirty-five  springs.  Ask  Pan 
Yan,  who  saw  it  all  with  his  own  eyes." 

Pan  Yan,  knowing  that  Zagloba  had  had  for  some  time  the 
habit  of  referring  to  him  as  an  eye-witness  of,  everything, 
did  not  wink,  but  spoke  again  of  Pan  Michael.  Zagloba 
sank  into  silence,  and  began  to  think  of  some  subject 
deeply ;  at  last  he  dropped  into  better  humor  and  said  after 
supper,  — 

"  I  will  tell  you  a  thing  that  not  every  mind  could  hit 
upon.  I  trust  in  God  that  our  Michael  will  come  out  of  this 
trouble  more  easily  than  we  thought  at  first." 

"  God  grant !  but  whence  did  that  come  to  your  head  ?  " 
inquired  Kmita. 

"  H'm  !  Besides  an  acquaintance  with  Michael,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  have  quick  wit  from  nature  and  long  experience,  and 
the  latter  is  not  possible  at  your  years.  Each  man  has  his 
own  special  qualities.  When  misfortune  strikes  some  men, 
it  is,  speaking  figuratively,  as  if  you  were  to  throw  a  stone 
into  a  river.  On  the  surface  the  water  flows,  as  it  were, 
quietly;  but  the  stone  lies  at  the  bottom  and  hinders  the 
natural  current,  and  stops  it  and  tears  it  terribly,  and  it  will 
lie  there  and  tear  it  till  all  the  water  of  that  river  flows  into 
the  Styx.  Yan,  you  may  be  counted  with  such  men  ;  but 
there  is  more  suffering  in  the  world  for  them,  since  the  pain, 
and  the  memory  of  what  caused  it,  do  not  leave  them.  But 

1  This  refers  to  the  axelike  form  of  the  numeral  7. 


14  PAN  MICHAEL. 

others  receive  misfortune  as  if  some  one  had  struck  them 
with  a  fist  on  the  shoulder.  They  lose  their  senses  for  the 
moment,  revive  later  on,  and  when  the  black -and-blue  spot 
is  well,  they  forget  it.  Oi !  such  a  nature  is  better  in  this 
world,  which  is  full  of  misfortune." 

The  knights  listened  with  attention  to  the  wise  words  of 
Zagloba ;  he  was  glad  to  see  that  they  listened  with  such 
respect,  and  continued,  — 

"  I  know  Michael  through  and  through ;  and  God  is  my 
witness  that  I  have  no  wish  to  find  fault  with  him  now,  but 
it  seems  to  me  that  he  grieves  more  for  the  loss  of  the 
marriage  than  of  the  maiden.  It  is  nothing  that  terrible 
despair  has  come,  though  that  too,  especially  for  him,  is  a  mis- 
fortune above  misfortunes.  You  cannot  even  imagine  what 
a  wish  that  man  had  to  marry.  There  is  not  in  him  greed  or 
ambition  of  any  kind,  or  selfishness :  he  has  left  what  he  had, 
he  has  as  good  as  lost  his  own  fortune,  he  has  not  asked 
for  his  salary ;  but  in  return  for  all  his  labors  and  services 
he  expected,  from  the  Lord  God  and  the  Commonwealth, 
only  a  wife.  And  he  reckoned  in  his  soul  that  such  bread 
as  that  belonged  to  him ;  and  he  was  about  to  put  it  to 
his  mouth,  when  right  there,  as  it  were,  some  one  sneered 
at  him,  saying,  '  You  have  it  now  !  Eat  it ! '  What  wonder 
that  despair  seized  him  ?  I  do  not  say  that  he  did  not 
grieve  for  the  maiden ;  but  as  God  is  dear  to  me,  he  grieved 
more  for  the  marriage,  though  he  would  himself  swear  to 
the  opposite." 

"That  may  be  true,"  said  Pan  Yan. 

"  Wait !  Only  let  those  wounds  of  his  soul  close  and 
heal ;  we  shall  see  if  his  old  wish  will  not  come  again.  The 
danger  is  only  in  this,  that  now,  under  the  weight  of  despair, 
he  may  do  something  or  make  some  decision  which  he 
would  regret  later  on.  But  what  was  to  happen  has  hap- 
pened, for  in  misfortune  decision  comes  quickly.  My 
attendant  is  packing  my  clothes.  I  am  not  speaking  to 
dissuade  you  from  going ;  I  wished  only  to  comfort  you." 

"  Again,  father,  you  will  be  a  plaster  to  Michael,"  said 
Pan  Yan. 

"  As  I  was  to  you,  you  remember  ?  If  I  can  only  find 
him  soon,  for  I  fear  that  he  may  be  hiding  in  some  hermit- 
age, or  that  he  will  disappear  somewhere  in  the  distant 
steppes  to  which  he  is  accustomed  from  childhood.  Pan 
Kmita,  your  grace  criticises  my  age ;  but  I  tell  you  that  if 
ever  a  courier  rushed  on  with  despatches  as  I  shall  rush,  then 


PAN   MICHAEL.  .  15 

command  me  when  I  return  to  unravel  old  silk,  shell  peas, 
or  give  me  a  distaff.  Neither  will  hardships  detain  me,  nor 
wonders  of  hospitality  tempt  me;  eating,  even  drinking,  will 
not  stop  me.  You  have  not  yet  seen  such  a  journey !  I 
can  now  barely  sit  in  my  place,  just  as  if  some  one  were 
pricking  me  from  under  the  bench  with  an  awl.  I  have 
even  ordered  that  my  travelling-shirt  be  rubbed  with  goats' 
tallow,  so  as  to  resist  the  serpent." 


16  PAN  MICHAEL. 


CHAPTEE   IV. 

PAN  ZAGLOBA  did  not  drive  forward  so  swiftly,  however, 
as  he  had  promised  himself  and  his  comrades.  The  nearer 
he  was  to  Warsaw,  the  more  slowly  he  travelled.  It  was 
the  time  in  which  Yan  Kazimir,  king,  statesman,  and  great 
leader,  having  extinguished  foreign  conflagration  and 
brought  the  Commonwealth,  as  it  were,  from  the  depths  of 
a  deluge,  had  abdicated  lordship.  He  had  suffered  every- 
thing, had  endured  everything,  had  exposed  his  breast  to 
every  blow  which  came  from  a  foreign  enemy  ;  but  when 
later  on  he  aimed  at  internal  reforms  and  instead  of  aid 
from  the  nation  found  only  opposition  and  ingratitude,  he 
removed  from  his  anointed  temples  of  his  own  will  that 
crown  which  had  become  an  unendurable  burden  to  him. 

The  district  and  general  diets  had  been  held  already ;  and 
Prajmovski,  the  primate,  summoned  the  Convocation  for 
November  5. 

Great  were  the  early  efforts  of  various  candidates,  great 
the  rivalry  of  various  parties ;  and  though  it  was  the 
election  alone  which  would  decide,  still,  each  one  felt  the 
uncommon  importance  of  the  Diet  of  Convocation.  There- 
fore deputies  were  hastening  to  Warsaw,  on  wheels  and  on 
horseback,  with  attendants  and  servants ;  senators  were 
moving  to  the  capital,  and  with  each  one  of  them  a  mag- 
nificent escort. 

The  roads  were  crowded;  the  inns  were  filled,  and  dis- 
covery of  lodgings  for  a  night  was  connected  with  great 
delay.  Places  were  yielded,  however,  to  Zagloba  out  of 
regard  for  his  age ;  but  at  the  same  time  his  immense  repu- 
tation exposed  him  more  than  once  to  loss  of  time. 

This  was  the  way  of  it :  He  would  come  to  some  public 
house,  and  not  another  finger  could  be  thrust  into  the 
place  ;  the  personage  who  with  his  escort  had  occupied  the 
building  would  come  out  then,  through  curiosity  to  see  who 
had  arrived,  and  finding  a  man  with  mustaches  and  beard 
as  white  as  milk,  would  say,  in  view  of  such  dignity,  — 

"  I  beg  your  grace,  my  benefactor,  to  come  with  me  for  a 
chauce  bite." 


PAN   MICHAEL.  17 

Zagloba  was  no  boor,  and  refused  not,  knowing  that 
acquaintance  with  him  would  be  pleasing  to  every  man. 
When  the  host  conducted  him  over  the  threshold  and 
asked,  "  Whom  have  I  the  honor  ?  "  he  merely  put  his 
hands  on  his  hips,  and  sure  of  the  effect,  answered  in  two 
words,  "  Zagloba  sum  !  (I  am  Zagloba)." 

Indeed,  it  never  happened  that  after  those  two  words  a 
great  opening  of  arms  did  not  follow,  and  exclamations, 
"  I  shall  inscribe  this  among  my  most  fortunate  days  !  " 
And  the  cries  of  officers  or  nobles,  "  Look  at  him ! 
that  is  the  model,  the  gloria  et  decus  (glory  and  honor)  of 
all  the  cavaliers  of  the  Commonwealth."  They  hurried 
together  then  to  wonder  at  Zagloba  ;  the  younger  men  came 
to  kiss  the  skirts  of  his  travelling-coat.  After  that  they 
drew  out  of  the  wagons  kegs  and  vessels,  and  a  gaudium 
(rejoicing)  followed,  continuing  sometimes  a  number  of 
days. 

It  was  thought  universally  that  he  was  going  as  a  deputy 
to  the  Diet;  and  when  he  declared  that  he  was  not,  the 
astonishment  was  general.  But  he  explained  that  he  had 
yielded  his  mandate  to  Pan  Domashevski,  so  that  younger 
men  might  devote  themselves  to  public  affairs.  To  some  he 
related  the  real  reason  why  he  was  on  the  road ;  but  when 
others  inquired,  he  put  them  off  with  these  words,  — 

"  Accustomed  to  war  from  youthful  years,  I  wanted  in  old 
age  to  have  a  last  drive  at  Doroshenko." 

After  these  words  they  wondered  still  more  at  him,  and 
to  no  one  did  he  seem  less  important  because  he  was  not  a 
deputy,  for  all  knew  that  among  the  audience  were  men 
who  had  more  power  than  the  deputies  themselves.  Besides, 
every  senator,  even  the  most  eminent,  had  in  mind  that,  a 
couple  of  months  later,  the  election  would  follow,  and  then 
every  word  of  a  man  of  such  fame  among  the  knighthood 
would  have  value  beyond  estimation. 

They  carried,  therefore,  Zagloba  in  their  arms,  and  stood 
before  him  with  bared  heads,  even  the  greatest  lords.  Pan 
Podlyaski  drank  three  days  with  him ;  the  Patses,  whom 
he  met  in  Kalushyn,  bore  him  on  their  hands. 

More  than  one  man  gave  command  to  thrust  into  the  old 
hero's  hamper  considerable  gifts,  from  vodka  and  wine  to 
richly  ornamented  caskets,  sabres,  and  pistols. 

Zagloba's  servants  too  had  good  profit  from  this  ;  and  he, 
despite  resolutions  and  promises,  travelled  so  slowly  that 
only  on  the  third  week  did  he  reach  Minsk. 

2 


18  PAN  MICHAEL. 

But  he  did  not  halt  for  refreshments  at  Minsk.  Driving 
to  the  square,  he  saw  a  retinue  so  conspicuous  and  splendid 
that  he  had  not  met  such  on  the  road  hitherto  :  attendants 
in  brilliant  colors  ;  half  a  regiment  of  infantry  alone,  for  to 
the  Diet  of  Convocation  men  did  not  go  armed  on  horse- 
back, but  these  troops  were  in  such  order  that  the  King  of 
Sweden  had  not  a  better  guard ;  the  place  was  filled  with 
gilded  carriages  carrying  tapestry  and  carpets  to  use  in 
public  houses  on  the  way ;  wagons  with  provision  chests 
and  supplies  of  food ;  with  them  were  servants,  nearly  all 
foreign,  so  that  in  that  throng  few  spoke  an  intelligible 
tongue. 

Zagloba  saw  at  last  an  attendant  in  Polish  costume  ;  hence 
he  gave  order  to  halt,  and  sure  of  good  entertainment,  had 
put  forth  one  foot  already  from  the  wagon,  asking  at  the 
same  time,  "  But  whose  retinue  is  this,  so  splendid  that  the 
king  can  have  no  better  ?  " 

"  Whose  should  it  be,"  replied  the  attendant,  "  but  that 
of  our  lord,  the  Prince  Marshal  of  Lithuania  ?  " 

"  Whose  ?  "  repeated  Zagloba. 

"  Are  you  deaf  ?  Prince  Boguslav  Radzivill,  who  is 
going  to  the  Convocation,  but  who,  God  grant,  after  the 
election  will  be  elected." 

Zagloba  hid  his  foot  quickly  in  the  wagon.  "Drive  on!" 
cried  he.  "  There  is  nothing  here  for  us  ! " 

And  he  went  on,  trembling  from  indignation. 

"  0  Great  God !  "  said  he,  "  inscrutable  are  Thy  decrees ; 
and  if  Thou  dost  not  shatter  this  traitor  with  Thy  thunder- 
bolts, Thou  hast  in  this  some  hidden  designs  which  it  is  not 
permitted  to  reach  by  man's  reason,  though  judging  in 
human  fashion,  it  would  have  been  proper  to  give  a  good 
blow  to  such  a  bull-driver.  But  it  is  evident  that  evil  is 
working  in  this  most  illustrious  Commonwealth,  if  such 
traitors,  without  honor  and  conscience,  not  only  receive  no 
punishment,  but  ride  in  safety  and  power,  —  nay,  exercise 
civil  functions  also.  It  must  be  that  we  shall  perish,  for  in 
what  other  country,  in  what  other  State,  could  such  a  thing 
be  brought  to  pass  ?  Yan  Kazimir  was  a  good  king,  but  he 
forgave  too  often,  and  accustomed  the  wickedest  to  trust  in 
impunity  and  safety.  Still,  that  is  not  his  fault  alone.  It 
is  clear  that  in  the  nation  civil  conscience  and  the  feeling 
•of  public  virtue  has  perished  utterly.  Tfu !  tfu !  he  a 
deputy  !  In  his  infamous  hands  citizens  place  the  integrity 
and  safety  of  the  country,  —  in  those  very  hands  with  which 


PAN   MICHAEL.  19 

he  was  rending  it  and  fastening  it  in  Swedish  fetters.  We 
shall  be  lost ;  it  cannot  be  otherwise  !  Still  more  to  make  a 
king  of  him,  the  —  But  what !  't  is  evident  that  everything 
is  possible  among  such  people.  He  a  deputy  !  For  God's 
sake !  But  the  law  declares  clearly  that  a  man  who  fills 
offices  in  a  foreign  country  cannot  be  a  deputy ;  and  he  is 
a  governor-general  in  princely  Prussia  under  his  mangy 
uncle.  Ah,  ha!  wait,  I  have  thee.  And  verifications  at 
the  Diet,  what  are  they  for  ?  If  I  do  not  go  to  the  hall 
and  raise  this  question,  though  I  am  only  a  spectator,  may 
I  be  turned  this  minute  into  a  fat  sheep,  and  my  driver 
into  a  butcher  !  I  will  find  among  deputies  men  to  support 
me.  I  know  not,  traitor,  whether  I  can  overcome  such  a 
potentate  and  exclude  thee ;  but  what  I  shall  do  will  not 
help  thy  election,  —  that  is  sure.  And  Michael,  poor  fellow, 
must  wait  for  me,  since  this  is  an  action  of  public 
importance." 

So  thought  Zagloba,  promising  himself  to  attend  with 
care  to  that  case  of  expulsion,  and  to  bring  over  deputies  in 
private ;  for  this  reason  he  hastened  on  more  hurriedly  to 
Warsaw  from  Minsk,  fearing  to  be  late  for  the  opening  of 
the  Diet.  But  he  came  early  enough.  The  concourse  of 
deputies  and  other  persons  was  so  great  that  it  was  utterly 
impossible  to  find  lodgings  in  Warsaw  itself,  or  in  Praga,  or 
even  outside  the  city ;  it  was  difficult  too  to  find  a  place  in 
a  private  house,  for  three  or  four  persons  were  lodged  in 
single  rooms.  Zagloba  spent  the  first  night  in  a  shop,  and 
it  passed  rather  pleasantly  ;  but  in  the  morning,  when  he 
found  himself  in  his  wagon,  he  did  not  know  well  what 
to  do. 

"My  God!  my  God!  "said  he,  falling  into  evil  humor, 
and  looking  around  on  the  Cracow  suburbs,  which  he  had 
just  passed ;  "  here  are  the  Bernardines,  and  there  is  the 
ruin  of  the  Kazanovski  Palace!  Thankless  city!  I  had 
to  wrest  it  from  the  enemy  with  my  blood  and  toil,  and  now 
it  grudges  me  a  corner  for  my  gray  head." 

But  the  city  did  not  by  any  means  grudge  Zagloba  a  cor- 
ner  for  his  gray  head  ;  it  simply  had  n't  one.  Meanwhile  a 
lucky  star  was  watching  over  him,  for  barely  had  he  reached 
the  palace  of  the  Konyetspolskis  when  a  voice  called  from 
one  side  to  his  driver,  "  Stop!  " 

The  man  reined  in  the  horses ;  then  an  unknown  noble- 
man approached  the  wagon  with  gleaming  face,  and  cried 
out,  "  Pan  Zagloba !  Does  your  grace  not  know  me  ?  " 


20  PAN  MICHAEL. 

Zagloba  saw  before  him  a  man  of  somewhat  over  thirty 
years,  wearing  a  leopard-skin  cap  with  a  feather,  —  an  uner- 
ring mark  of  military  service,  —  a  poppy-colored  under-coat, 
and  a  dark-red  kontush,  girded  with  a  gold  brocade  belt.  The 
face  of  the  unknown  was  of  unusual  beauty :  his  complexion 
was  pale,  but  burned  somewhat  by  wind  in  the  fields  to  a  yel- 
lowish tinge  ;  his  blue  eyes  were  full  of  a  certain  melancholy 
and  pensiveness  ;  his  features  were  unusually  symmetrical, 
almost  too  beautiful  for  a  man.  Notwithstanding  his  Polish 
dress,  he  wore  long  hair  and  a  beard  cut  in  foreign  fashion. 
Halting  at  the  wagon,  he  opened  his  arms  widely  ;  and 
Zagloba,  though  he  could  not  remember  him  at  once,  bent 
over  and  embraced  him.  They  pressed  each  other  heartily, 
and  at  moments  one  pushed  the  other  back  so  as  to  have  a 
better  look. 

"  Pardon  me,  your  grace/'  said  Zagloba,  at  last ;  "  but  I 
cannot  call  to  mind  yet." 

"Hassling-Ketling!" 

"  For  God's  sake  !  The  face  seemed  well  known  to  me, 
but  the  dress  has  changed  you  entirely,  for  I  saw  you  in 
old  times  in  a  Prussian  uniform.  Now  you  wear  the  Polish 
dress  ? " 

"Yes;  for  I  have  taken  as  my  mother  this  Common- 
wealth, which  received  me  when  a  wanderer,  almost  in 
years  of  boyhood,  and  gave  me  abundant  bread  and  an- 
other mother  I  do  not  wish.  You  do  not  know  that  I 
received  citizenship  after  the  war." 

"  But  you  bring  me  good  news  !  So  Fortune  favored  you 
in  this  ?  " 

"  Both  in  this  and  in  something  else ;  for  in  Courland,  on 
the  very  boundary  of  Jmud,  I  found  a  man  of  my  own 
name,  who  adopted  me,  gave  me  his  escutcheon,  and  be- 
stowed on  me  property.  He  lives  in  Svyenta  in  Courland ; 
but  on  this  side  he  has  an  estate  called  Shkudy,  which  he 
gave  me." 

"  God  favor  you !     Then  you  have  given  up  war  ?  " 

"  Only  let  the  chance  come,  and  I  '11  take  my  place  with- 
out fail.  In  view  of  that,  I  have  rented  my  land,  and  am 
waiting  here  for  an  opening." 

"  That  is  the  courage  that  I  like.  Just  as  I  was  in  youth, 
and  I  have  strength  yet  in  my  bones.  What  are  you  doing 
now  in  Warsaw  ?  " 

"I  am  a  deputy  at  the  Diet  of  Convocation." 

"God's  wounds!  But  you  are  already  a  Pole  to  the 
bones ! " 


PAN    MICHAEL.  21 

The  young  knight  smiled.    "  To  my  soul,  which  is  better." 

"Are  you  married  V  " 

Ketling  sighed.     "JRo." 

"Only  that  is  lacking.  But  I  think — wait  a  minute! 
But  has  that  old  feeling  for  Paima  Billevich  gone  out  of 
your  mind  ?  " 

"Since  you  know  of  that  which  I  thought  my  secret,  be 
assured  that  no  new  one  has  come." 

"  Oh,  leave  her  in  peace!  She  will  soon  give  the  world 
a  young  Kmita.  Never  mind!  What  sort  of  work  is  it  to 
sigh  when  another  is  living  with  her  in  better  confidence  ? 
To  tell  the  truth,  'tis  ridiculous." 

Ketling  raised  his  pensive  eyes.  "  I  have  said  only  that 
no  new  feeling  has  come." 

"It  will  come,  never  fear!  we'll  have  you  married.  I 
know  from  experience  that  in  love  too .  great  constancy 
brings  merely  suffering.  In  my  time  I  was  as  constant  as 
Troilus,  and  lost  a  world  of  pleasure  and  a  world  of  good 
opportunities;  and  how  much  I  suffered!" 

"  God  grant  every  one  to  retain  such  jovial  humor  as 
your  grace ! " 

"  Because  I  lived  in  moderation  always,  therefore  I  have 
no  aches  in  my  bones.  Where  are  you  stopping  ?  Have 
you  found  lodgings  ?  " 

"  I  have  a  comfortable  cottage,  which  I  built  after  the 
war." 

"  You  are  fortunate  ;  but  I  have  been  travelling  through 
the  whole  city  in  vain  since  yesterday." 

"  For  God's  sake !  my  benefactor,  you  will  not  refuse,  I 
hope,  to  stop  with  me.  There  is  room  enough ;  besides  the 
house,  there  are  wings  and  a  commodious  stable.  You  will 
find  room  for  your  servants  and  horses." 

"  You  have  fallen  from  heaven,  as  God  is  dear  to  me !" 

Ketling  took  a  seat  in  the  wagon  and  they  drove  forward. 
On  the  way  Zagloba  told  him  of  the  misfortune  that  had 
met  Fan  Michael,  and  he  wrung  his  hands,  for  hitherto  he 
had  not  heard  of  it. 

"  The  dart  is  all  the  keener  for  me,"  said  he,  at  last ; 
"and  perhaps  your  grace  does  not  know  what  a  friendship 
sprang  up  between  us  in  recent  times.  Together  we  went 
through  all  the  later  wars  with  Prussia,  at  the  besieging  of 
fortresses,  where  there  were  only  Swedish  garrisons.  \\  e 
went  to  the  Ukraine  and  against  Pan  Lyubomirski.  and 
after  the  death  of  the  voevoda  of  lltis,  to  the  Ukraine  a 


22  PAN  MICHAEL. 

second  time  under  Sobieski,  the  marshal  of  the  kingdom. 
The  same  saddle  served  us  as  a  pillow,  and  we  ate  from  the 
same  dish ;  we  were  called  Castor  and  Pollux.  And  only 
when  he  went  for  his  affianced,  did  the  moment  of  sepa-ra- 
tion  come.  Who  could  think  that  his  best  hopes  would 
vanish  like  an  arrow  in  the  air  ? " 

"There  is  nothing  fixed  in  this  vale  of  tears,"  said 
Zagloba. 

"Except  steady  friendship.  We  must  take  counsel  and 
learn  where  he  is  at  this  moment.  We  may  hear  some- 
thing from  the  marshal  of  the  kingdom,  who  loves  Michael 
as  the  apple  of  his  eye.  If  he  can  tell  nothing,  there  are 
deputies  here  from  all  sides.  It  cannot  be  that  no  man  has 
heard  of  such  a  knight.  In  what  I  have  power,  in  that  I 
will  aid  you,  more  quickly  than  if  the  question  affected 
myself." 

Thus  conversing,  they  came  at  last  to  Ketling's  cottage, 
which  turned  out  to  be  a  mansion.  Inside  was  every  kind 
of  order  and  no  small  number  of  costly  utensils,  either 
purchased,  or  obtained  in  campaigns.  The  collection  of 
weapons  especially  was  remarkable.  Zagloba  was  delighted 
with  what  he  saw,  and  said,  — 

"  Oh,  you  could  find  lodgings  here  for  twenty  men.  It 
was  lucky  for  me  that  I  met  you.  I  might  have  occupied 
apartments  with  Pan  Anton  Hrapovitski,  for  he  is  an 
acquaintance  and  friend.  The  Patses  also  invited  me,  — 
they  are  seeking  partisans  against  the  Radzivills,  —  but  I 
prefer  to  be  with  you." 

"I  have  heard  among  the  Lithuanian  deputies,"  said 
Ketling,  "that  since  the  turn  comes  now  to  Lithuania, 
they  wish  absolutely  to  choose  Pan  Hrapovitski  as  mar- 
shal of  the  Diet." 

"  And  justly.  He  is  an  honest  man  and  a  sensible  one, 
but  too  good-natured.  For  him  there  is  nothing  more 
precious  than  harmony;  he  is  only  seeking  to  reconcile 
some  man  with  some  other,  and  that  is  useless.  But 
tell  me  sincerely,  what  is  Boguslav  Radzivill  to  you  ?  " 

"From  the  time  that  Pan  Kmita's  Tartars  took  me 
captive  at  Warsaw,  he  has  been  nothing ;  for  although  he  is 
a  great  lord,  he  is  a  perverse  and  malicious  man.  I  saw 
enough  of  him  when  he  plotted  in  Taurogi  against  that 
being  superior  to  earth." 

"  How  superior  to  earth  ?  What  are  you  talking  of. 
man  ?  She  is  of  clay,  and  may  be  broken  like  any  clay 
vessel.  But  that  is  no  matter." 


PAN    .MICHAEL.  23 

Here  Zagloba  grew  purple  from  rage,  till  the  eyes  were 
starting  from  his  head.  "  Imagine  to  yourself,  that  ruffian 
is  a  deputy  !  " 

••  \Vh<> '/  "  asked  in  astonishment  Ketling,  whose  mind 
was  still  on  Olenka. 

"  Boguslav  Radzivill !  But  the  verification  of  powers,  — 
what  is  that  for  ?  Listen :  you  are  a  deputy ;  you  can  raise 
the  (question.  I  will  roar  to  you  from  the  gallery  in  sup- 
port ;  have  no  fear  on  that  point.  The  right  is  with  us ; 
and  it'  they  try  to  degrade  the  right,  a  tumult  may  be  raised 
in  the  audience  that  will  not  pass  without  blood." 

"  Do  not  do  that,  your  grace,  for  God's  sake !  I  will  raise 
the  question,  for  it  is  proper  to  do  so ;  but  God  preserve  us 
from  stopping  the  Diet ! " 

"  I  will  go  to  Hrapovitski,  though  he  is  lukewarm ;  but 
no  matter,  much  depends  on  him  as  the  future  marshal. 
I  will  rouse  the  Patses.  At  least  I  will  mention  in  public 
all  Boguslav's  intrigues.  Moreover,  I  have  heard  on  the 
road  that  that  ruffian  thinks  of  seeking  the  crown  for 
himself." 

"A  nation  would  have  come  to  its  final  decline  and  would 
not  be  worthy  of  life  if  such  a  man  could  become  king," 
said  Ketling.  "  But  rest  now,  and  on  some  later  day  we 
will  go  to  the  marshal  of  the  kingdom  and  inquire  about 
our  friend." 


24  PAN  MICHAEL. 


CHAPTER  V. 

SOME  days  later  came  the  opening  of  the  Diet,  over 
which,  as  Ketling  had  foreseen,  Pan  Hrapovitski  was  chosen 
to  preside ;  lie  was  at  that  time  chamberlain  of  Smolensk, 
and  afterward  voevoda  of  Vityebsk.  Since  the  only  ques- 
tion was  to  fix  the  time  of  election  and  appoint  the  supreme 
Chapter,  and  as  intrigues  of  various  parties  could  not  find 
a  field  in  such  questions,  the  Diet  was  carried  on  calmly 
enough.  The  question  of  verification  roused  it  merely  a 
little  in  the  very  beginning.  When  the  deputy  Ketling 
challenged  the  election  of  the  secretary  of  Belsk  and  his 
colleague,  Prince  Boguslav  Kadzivill,  some  powerful  voice 
in  the  audience  shouted  "  Traitor  !  foreign  official !  "  After 
that  voice  followed  others ;  some  deputies  joined  them  ; 
and  all  at  once  the  Diet  was  divided  into  two  parties,  —  one 
striving  to  exclude  the  deputies  of  Belsk,  the  other  to  con- 
firm their  election.  Finally  a  court  was  appointed  to  settle 
the  question,  and  recognized  the  election.  Still,  the  blow 
was  a  painful  one  to  Prince  Boguslav.  This  alone,  that  the 
Diet  was  considering  whether  the  prince  was  qualified  to 
sit  in  the  chamber ;  this  alone,  that  all  his  treasons  and 
treacheries  in  time  of  the  Swedish  invasion  were  mentioned 
in  public,  —  covered  him  with  fresh  disgrace  in  the  eyes  of 
the  Commonwealth,  and  undermined  fundamentally  all 
his  ambitious  designs.  For  it  was  his  calculation  that 
when  the  partisans  of  Conde,  Neuburgh,  and  Lorraine, 
not  counting  inferior  candidates,  had  injured  one  another 
mutually,  the  choice  might  fall  easily  on  a  man  of  the 
country.  Hence,  pride  and  his  sycophants  told  him  that 
if  that  were  to  happen,  the  man  of  the  country  could  be  no 
other  than  a  man  endowed  with  the  highest  genius,  and  of 
the  most  powerful  and  famous  family,  —  in  other  words,  he 
himself. 

Keeping  matters  in  secret  till  the  hour  came,  the  prince 
spread  his  nets  in  advance  over  Lithuania,  and  just  then  he 
was  spreading  them  in  Warsaw,  when  suddenly  he  saw  that 
in  the  very  beginning  they  were  torn,  and  such  a  broad  rent 
made  that  all  the  fish  might  escape  through  it  easily.  He 


PAN    MICHAEL.  25 

gritted  his  teeth  during  the  whole  time  of  the  court ;  and 
since  he  could  not  wreak  his  vengeance  on  Ketling,  as  he 
was  a  deputy,  he  announced  among  his  attendants  a  reward 
to  him  who  would  indicate  that  spectator  who  had  cried  out 
just  after  Ketling's  proposal,  "  Traitor  !  foreign  official !  " 

Zagloba's  name  was  too  famous  to  remain  hidden  long ; 
moreover,  he  did  not  conceal  himself  in  any  way.  The 
prince  indeed  raised  a  still  greater  uproar,  but  was  discon- 
certed not  a  little  when  he  heard  that  he  was  met  by  so 
popular  a  man  and  one  whom  it  was  dangerous  to  attack. 

Zagloba  too  knew  his  own  power ;  for  when  threats  had 
begun  to  fly  about,  he  said  once  at  a  great  meeting  of  nobles, 
"  I  do  not  know  if  there  would  be  danger  to  any  one  should 
a  hair  of  my  head  fall.  The  election  is  not  distant;  and 
when  a  hundred  thousand  sabres  of  brothers  are  collected, 
there  may  easily  be  some  making  of  mince-meat." 

These  words  reached  the  prince,  who  only  bit  his  lips 
and  smiled  sneeringly ;  but  in  his  soul  he  thought  that  the 
old  man  was  right.  On  the  following  day  he  changed  his 
plans  evidently  with  regard  to  the  old  knight,  for  when 
some  one  spoke  of  Zagloba  at  a  feast  given  by  the  prince 
chamberlain,  IJoguslav  said,  — 

"That  noble  is  greatly  opposed  to  me,  as  I  hear;  but  I 
have  such  love  for  knightly  people  that  even  if  he  does  not 
cease  to  injure  me  in  future,  I  shall  always  love  him." 

And  a  week  later  the  prince  repeated  the  same  directly 
to  Pan  Zagloba,  when  they  met  at  the  house  of  the  Grand 
Hetman  Sobieski.  Though  Zagloba  preserved  a  calm  face, 
full  of  courage,  the  heart  fluttered  a  little  in  his  breast  at 
sight  of  the  prince ;  for  Boguslav  had  far-reaching  hands, 
and  was  a  man-eater  of  whom  all  were  in  dread.  The 
prince  called  out,  however,  across  the  whole  table,  — 

"  Gracious  Pan  Zaglolxi,  the  report  has  come  to  me  that 
you,  though  not  a  deputy,  wished  to  drive  me,  innocent  man, 
from  the  Diet ;  but  I  forgive  you  in  Christian  fashion,  and 
should  you  ever  need  advancement,  I  shall  not  be  slow  to 
serve  you." 

"  I  merely  stood  by  the  Constitution,"  answered  Zagloba, 
"as  a  noble  is  bound  to  do;  as  to  assistance,  at  my  age  it  is 
likely  that  the  assistance  of  God  is  needed  most,  for  I  am 
near  ninety." 

"A  beautiful  age  if  its  virtue  is  as  great  as  its  length, 
and  this  I  have  not  the  least  wish  to  doubt." 

"I  served  my  country  and  my  king  without  seeking 
strange  gods." 


26  PAN   MICHAEL. 

The  prince  frowned  a  little.  "  You  served  against  me 
too ;  I  know  that.  But  let  there  be  harmony  between  us. 
All  is  forgotten,  and  this  too,  that  you  aided  the  private 
hatred  of  another  against  me.  With  that  enemy  I  have 
still  some  accounts ;  but  I  extend  my  hand  to  your  grace, 
and  offer  my  friendship." 

"  I  am  only  a  poor  man ;  the  friendship  is  too  high  for 
me.  I  should  have  to  stand  on  tiptoe,  or  spring  to  it ;  and 
that  in  old  age  is  annoying.  If  your  princely  grace  is 
speaking  of  accounts  with  Pan  Kmita,  my  friend,  then  I 
should  be  glad  from  any  heart  to  leave  that  arithmetic."  . 

"  But  why  so,  I  pray  ?  "  asked  the  prince. 

"  For  there  are  four  fundamental  rules  in  arithmetic. 
Though  Pan  Kmita  has  a  respectable  fortune,  it  is  a  fly  if 
compared  with  your  princely  wealth  ;  therefore  Pan  Kmita 
will  not  consent  to  division.  He  is  occupied  with  multipli- 
cation himself,  and  will  let  no  man  take  aught  from  him  ,; 
though  he  might  give  something  to  others,  I  do  not  think 
that  your  princely  grace  would  be  eager  to  take  what  he  'd 
give  you." 

Though  Boguslav  was  trained  in  word-fencing,  still, 
whether  it  was  Zagloba's  argument  or  his  insolence  that 
astonished  him  so  much,  he  forgot  the  tongue  in  his  own 
mouth.  The  breasts  of  those  present  began  to  shake  from 
laughter.  Pan  Sobieski  laughed  with  his  whole  soul,  and 
said, — 

"He  is  an  old  warrior  of  Zbaraj.  He  knows  how  to  wield 
a  sabre,  but  is  no  common  player  with  the  tongue.  Better 
let  him  alone." 

In  fact,  Boguslav,  seeing  that  he  had  hit  upon  an  irre- 
concilable, did  not  try  further  to  capture  Zagloba;  but  be- 
ginning conversation  with  another  man,  he  cast  from  time 
to  time  malign  glances  across  the  table  at  the  old  knight. 

But  Sobieski  was  delighted,  and  continued,  "  You  are  a 
master,  lord  .brother,  —  a  genuine  master.  Have  you  ever 
found  your  equal  in  this  Commonwealth  ?  " 

"At  the  sabre,"  answered  Zagloba,  satisfied  with  the 
praise,  "  Volodyovski  has  come  up  to  me ;  and  Kmita  too  I 
have  trained  not  badly." 

Saying  this,  he  looked  at  Boguslav;  but  the  prince 
feigned  not  to  hear  him,  and  spoke  diligently  with  his 
neighbor. 

"Why!"  said  the  hetman,  "I  have  seen  Pan  Michael  at 
work  more  than  once,  and  would  guarantee  him  even  if  the 


PAN   MICHAEL.  27 

fate  of  all  Christendom  were  at  stake.     It  is  a  pity  that  a 
thunderbolt,  as  it  were,  has  struck  such  a  soldier." 

"  But  what  has  happened  to  him  ?  "  asked  Sarbyevski, 
the  sword-bearer  of  Tsehanov. 

"  The  maiden  he  loved  died  in  Chenstohova,"  answered 
Zagloba ;  "  and  the  worst  is  that  I  cannot  learn  from  any 
source  where  he  is." 

"  But  I  saw  him,"  cried  Pan  Varshytski,  the  castellan  of 
Cracow.  "  While  coming  to  Warsaw,  I  saw  him  on  the 
road  coming  hither  also ;  and  he  told  me  that  being  dis- 
gusted with  the  world  and  its  vanities,  he  was  going  to 
Mons  Regius  to  end  his  suffering  life  in  prayer  and 
meditation." 

Zagloba  caught  at  the  remnant  of  his  hair.  "He  has 
become  a  monk  of  Camaldoli,  as  God  is  dear  to  me!" 
exclaimed  lie,  in  the  greatest  despair. 

Indeed,  the  statement  of  the  castellan  had  made  no  small 
impression  on  all.  Pan  Sobieski,  who  loved  soldiers,  and 
knew  himself  best  how  the  country  needed  them,  was  pained 
deeply,  and  said  after  a  pause,  — 

"  It  is  not  proper  to  oppose  the  free-will  of  men  and  the 
glory  of  God,  but  it  is  a  pity  to  lose  him ;  and  it  is  hard  for 
me  to  hide  from  you,  gentlemen,  that  I  am  grieved.  From 
the  school  of  Prince  Yeremi  that  was  an  excellent  soldier 
against  every  enemy,  but  against  the  horde  and  ruffiandom 
incomparable.  There  are  only  a  few  such  partisans  in  the 
steppes,  such  as  Pan  Pivo  among  the  Cossacks,  and  Pan 
Rushchyts  in  the  cavalry  ;  but  even  these  are  not  equal  to 
Pan  Michael." 

"  It  is  fortunate  that  the  times  are  somewhat  calmer," 
said  the  sword-bearer  of  Tsehanov,  "and  that  Paganism 
observes  faithfully  the  treaty  of  Podhaytse  extorted  by 
the  invincible  sword  of  my  benefactor." 

Here  the  sword-bearer  inclined  before  Sobieski,  who  re- 
joiced in  his  heart  at  the  public  praise,  and  answered,  "  That 
was  due,  in  the  first  instance,  to  the  goodness  of  God,  who 
permitted  me  to  stand  at  the  threshold  of  the  Commonwealth, 
and  cut  the  enemy  somewhat ;  and  in  the  second,  to  the  cour- 
age of  .good  soldiers  who  are  ready  for  everything.  That 
the  Khan  would  be  glad  to  keep  the  treaties,  I  know ;  but 
in  the  Crimea  itself  there  are  tumults  against  the  Khan,  and 
the  Belgrod  horde  does  not  obey  him  at  all.  I  have  just 
received  tidings  that  on  the  Moldavian  boundary  clouds  are 
collecting,  and  that  raids  may  come  in ;  I  have  given  orders 


28  TAN   MICHAEL. 

to  watch  the  roads  carefully,  but  I  have  not  soldiers  suf- 
ficient. If  I  send  some  to  one  place,  an  opening  is  left 
in  another.  I  need  men  trained  specially  and  knowing 
the  ways  of  the  horde;  this  is  why  I  am  so  sorry  for 
Volodyovski." 

In  answer  to  this,  Zagloba  took  from  his  temples  the 
hands  with  which  he  was  pressing  his  head,  and  cried, 
"  But  he  will  not  remain  a  monk,  even  if  I  have  to  make 
an  assault  on  Mons  Regius  and  take  him  by  force.  For 
God's  sake  !  I  will  go  to  him  straightway  to-morrow,  and 
perhaps  he  will  obey  ^my  persuasion  ;  if  not,  I  will  go  to  the 
primate,  to  the  prior.  Even  if  I  have  to  go  to  Rome,  I  will 
go.  I  have  no  wish  to  detract  from  the  glory  of  God; 
but  what  sort  of  a  monk  would  he  be  without  a  beard  ?  He 
has  as  much  hair  on  his  face  as  I  on  my  fist!  As  God  is 
dear  to  me,  he  will  never  be  able  to  sing  Mass  ;  or  if  he  sings 
it,  the  rats  will  run  out  of  the  cloister,  for  they  will  think 
a  tom-cat  is  wailing.  Forgive  me,  gentlemen,  for  speaking 
what  sorrow  brings  to  my  tongue.  If  I  had  a  son,  I  could 
not  love  him  as  I  do  that  man.  God  be  with  him  !  God  be 
with  him !  Even  if  he  were  to  become  a  Bernardine,  but  a 
monk  of  Camaldoli !  As  I  sit  here,  a  living  man,  nothing 
can  come  of  this  !  I  will  go  straightway  to  the  primate 
to-morrow,  for  a  letter  to  the  prior." 

"  He  cannot  have  made  vows  yet,"  put  in  the  marshal, 
"  but  let  not  your  gra.ce  be  too  urgent,  lest  he  grow  stubborn  ; 
and  it  is  needful  to  reckon  with  this  too,  —  has  not  the  will 
of  God  appeared  in  his  intention  ?  " 

"The  will  of  God?  The  will  of  God  does  not  come  on 
a  sudden ;  as  the  old  proverb  says,  '  What  is  sudden  is  of 
the  Devil.' '  If  it  were  the  will  of  God,  I  should  have  noted 
the  wish  long  ago  in  him ;  and  he  was  not  a  priest,  but  a 
dragoon.  If  he  had  made  such  a  resolve  while  in  full  reason, 
in  meditation  and  calmness,  I  should  say  nothing;  but  the 
will  of  God  does  not  strike  a  despairing  man  as  a  falcon 
does  a  duck.  I  will  not  press  him.  Before  I  go  I  will 
meditate  well  with  myself  what  to  say,  so  that  he  may  not 
play  the  fox  to  begin  with;  but  in  God  is  my  hope.  This 
little  soldier  has  confided  always  more  to  my  wit.  than  his 
own,  and  will  do  the  like  this  time,  I  trust,  unless  he  has 
changed  altogether." 


1'AN    MICI1AKL.  2'.) 


CHAPTER   VI. 

NEXT  day,  Zagloba,  armed  with  a  letter  from  the  primate, 
and  having  a  complete  plan  made  with  Ketling,  rang  the 
bell  at  the  gate  of  the  monastery  on  Mons  Regius.  His 
heart  was  beating  with  violence  at  this  thought,  "  How 
will  Michael  receive  me  ?  "  and  though  he  had  pi'epared 
in  advance  what  to  say,  he  acknowledged  himself  that 
much  depended  on  the  reception.  Thinking  thus,  he  pulled 
the  bell  a  second  time  ;  and  when  the  key  squeaked  in  the 
lock,  and  the  door  opened  a  little,  he  thrust  himself  into  it 
straightway  a  trine  violently,  and  said  to  the  confused  young 
monk,  — 

"  I  know  that  to  enter  here  a  special  permission  is  needed ; 
but  I  have  a  letter  from  the  archbishop,  which  you,  caris* 
simef rater,  will  be  pleased  to  give  the  reverend  prior." 

"  It  will  be  done  according  to  the  wish  of  your  grace,"  said 
the  doorkeeper,  inclining  at  sight  of  the  primate's  seal. 

Then  he  pulled  a  strap  hanging  at  the  tongue  of  a  bell, 
and  pulled  twice  to  call  some  one,  for  he  himself  had  no 
right  to  go  from  the  door.  Another  monk  appeared  at  that 
summons,  and  taking  the  letter,  departed  in  silence.  Zagloba 
placed  on  a  bench  a  package  which  he  had  with  him,  then 
sat  down  and  began  to  puff  wonderfully.  "  Brother,"  said 
he,  at  last,  "how  long  have  you  been  in  the  cloister  ?" 

"Five  years,"  answered  the  porter. 

"  Is  it  possible  ?  so  young,  and  five  years  already ! 
Then  it  is  too  late  to  leave,  even  if  you  wanted  to  do  so. 
You  must  yearn  sometimes  for  the  world ;  the  world  smells 
of  war  for  one  man,  of  feasts  for  another,  of  fair  heads  for 
a  third." 

"  Avaunt ! "  said  the  monk,  making  the  sign  of  the  cross 
with  devotion. 

"  How  is  that?  Has  not  the  temptation  to  go  out  of  the 
cloister  come  on  you  ?  "  continued  Zagloba. 

The  monk  looked  with  distrust  at  the  envoy  of  the  arch- 
bishop, speaking  in  such  marvellous  fashion,  and  answered, 
••  When'  the  door  hero  closes  on  any  man,  he  never  goes 
out." 


30  PAN   MICHAEL. 

"  We  '11  see  that  yet !  What  is  happening  to  Pan  Volo- 
dyovski  ?  Is  he  well  ?  " 

"  There  is  no  one  here  named  in  that  way." 

"  Brother  Michael  ?  "  said  Zagloba,  on  trial.  "  Former 
colonel  of  dragoons,  who  came  here  not  long  since." 

"  We  call  him  Brother  Yerzy ;  but  he  has  not  made  his 
vows  yet,  and  cannot  make  them  till  the  end  of  the  term." 

"  And  surely  he  will  not  make  them  ;  for  you  will  not 
believe,  brother,  what  a  woman's  man  he  is  !  You  could 
not  find  another  man  so  hostile  to  woman's  virtue  in  all  the 
clois  —  I  meant  to  say  in  all  the  cavalry." 

"  It  is  not  proper  for  me  Ao  hear  this,"  said  the  monk, 
with  increasing  astonishment  and  confusion. 

"  Listen,  brother ;  I  do  not  know  where  you  receive 
visitors,  but  if  it  is  in  this  place,  I  advise  you  to  withdraw 
a  little  when  Brother  Yerzy  comes,  —  as  far  as  that  gate, 
for  instance,  —  for  we  shall  talk  here  of  very  worldly 
matters." 

"  I  prefer  to  go  away  at  once,"  said  the  monk. 

Meanwhile  Pan  Michael,  or  rather  Brother  Yerzy, 
appeared ;  but  Zagloba  did  not  recognize  the  approaching 
man,  for  Pan  Michael  had  changed  greatly.  To  begin  with, 
he  seemed  taller  in  the  long  white  habit  than  in  the  dragoon 
jacket ;  secondly,  his  mustaches,  pointing  upward  toward 
his  eyes  formerly,  were  hanging  down  now,  and  he  was 
trying  to  let  out  his  beard,  which  formed  two  little  yellow 
tresses  not  longer  than  half  a  finger  ;  finally,  he  had  grown 
very  thin  and  meagre,  and  his  eyes  had  lost  their  former 
glitter.  He  approached  slowly,  with  his  hands  hidden  on 
his  bosom  under  his  habit,  and  with  drooping  head. 

Zagloba,  not  recognizing  him,  thought  that  perhaps  the 
prior  himself  was  coming;  therefore  he  rose  from  the  bench 
and  began,  "  Laudetur — "  Suddenly  he  looked  more  closely, 
opened  his  arms,  and  cried,  "Pan  Michael !  Pan  Michael !  " 

Brother  Yerzy  let  himself  be  seized  in  the  embrace  ; 
something  like  a  sob  shook  his  breast,  but  his  eyes  remained 
dry.  Zagloba  pressed  him  a  long  time  ;  at  last  he  began  to 
speak,  — 

"You  have  not  been  alone  in  weeping  over  your  misfor- 
tune. I  wept;  Yan  and  his  family  wept;  the  Kinitas 
wept.  It  is  the  will  of  God !  be  resigned  to  it,  Michael. 
May  the  Merciful  Father  comfort  and  reward  you  !  You 
have  done  well  to  shut  yourself  in  for  a  time  in  these  walls. 
There  is  nothing  better  than  prayer  and  pious  meditation 


PAN    MICHAEL.  31 

in  misfortune.     Come,  let  me  embrace  you  again !     I  can 
hardly  see  you  through  my  tears." 

And  Zagloba  wept  with  sincerity,  moved  at  the  sight  of 
Pan  Michael.  "  Pardon  me  for  disturbing  your  meditation," 
said  he,  at  last ;  "  but  I  could  not  act  otherwise,  and  you  will 
do  me  justice  when  I  give  you  my  reasons.  Ai,  Michael ! 
you  and  I  have  gone  through  a  world  of  evil  and  of  good. 
Have  you  found  consolation  behind  these  bars  ?  " 

"  I  have,"  replied  Pan  Michael,  —  "  in  those  words  which 
I  hear  in  this  place  daily,  and  repeat,  and  which  I  desire  to 
repeat  till  my  death,  memento  mori.  In  death  is  consolation 
for  me." 

"  H'm  !  death  is  more  easily  found  on  the  battlefield  than 
in  the  cloister,  where  life  passes  as  if  some  one  were 
unwinding  thread  from  a  ball,  slowly." 

"  There  is  no  life  here,  for  there  are  no  earthly  questions ; 
and  before  the  soul  leaves  the  body,  it  lives,  as  it  were,  in 
another  world." 

"  If  that  is  true,  I  will  not  tell  you  that  the  Belgrod 
horde  are  mustering  in  great  force  against  the  Common- 
wealth ;  for  what  interest  can  that  have  for  you  ?  " 

Pan  Michael's  mustaches  quivered  on  a  sudden,  and.  he 
stretched  his  right  hand  unwittingly  to  his  left  side  ;  but 
not  finding  a  sword  there,  he  put  both  hands  under  his 
habit,  dropped  his  head,  and  repeated,  "  Memento  mori ! " 

"Justly,  justly ! "  answered  Zagloba,  blinking  his  sound 
eye  with  a  certain  impatience.  "  No  longer  ago  than  yester- 
day Pan  Sobieski,  the  hetman,  said  :  '  Only  let  Volodyovski 
serve  even  through  this  one  storm,  and  then  let  him  go  to 
whatever  cloister  he  likes.  God  would  not  be  angry  for  the 
deed;  on  the  contrary,  such  a  monk  would  have  all  the 
greater  merit.'  But  there  is  no  reason  to  wonder  that  you 
put  your  own  peace  above  the  happiness  of  the  country,  for 
prima  charitas  ab  ego  (the  first  love  is  of  self)." 

A  long  interval  of  silence  followed ;  only  Pan  Michael's 
mustaches  stood  out  somewhat  and  began  to  move  quickly, 
though  lightly. 

"You  have  not  taken  your  vows  yet,"  asked  Zagloba,  at 
last,  "  and  you  can  go  out  at  any  moment  ?  " 

"  I  am  not  a  monk  yet,  for  I  have  been  waiting  for  the 
favor  of  God,  and  waiting  till  all  painful  thoughts  of  earth 
should  leave  my  soul.  .  His  favor  is  upon  me  now  ;  peace  is 
returning  to  me.  I  can  go  out ;  but  I  have  no  wish  to 
go,  since  the  time  is  drawing  near  in  which  I  can  make 


32  PAN  MICHAEL. 

my  vows  with  a  clear  conscience  and  free  from  earthly 
desires." 

"  I  have  no  wish  to  lead  you  away  from  this ;  on  the 
contrary,  I  applaud  your  resolution,  though  I  remember 
that  when  Yan  in  his  time  intended  to  become  a  monk,  he 
waited  till  the  country  was  free  from  the  storm  of  the 
enemy.  But  do  as  you  wish.  In  truth,  it  is  not  I  who 
will  lead  you  away;  for  I  myself  in  my  own  time  felt  a 
vocation  for  monastic  life.  Fifty  years  ago  I  even  began 
my  novitiate ;  I  am  a  rogue  if  I  did  not.  Well,  God  gave 
me  another  direction.  Only  I  tell  you  this,  Michael,  you 
must  go  out  with  me  now  even  for  two  days." 

"  Why  must  I  go  out  ?  Leave  me  in  peace ! "  said 
Volodyovski. 

Zagloba  raised  the  skirt  of  his  coat  to  his  eyes  and  began 
to  sob.  "I  do  not  beg  rescue  for  myself,"  said  he,  in  a 
broken  voice,  "  though  Prince  Boguslav  liadzivill  is  hunt- 
ing me  with  vengeance  ;  he  puts  his  murderers  in  ambush 
against  me,  and  there  is  no  one  to  defend  and  protect  me, 
old  man.  I  was  thinking  that  you  —  But  never  mind  !  I 
will  love  you  all  my  life,  even  if  you  are  unwilling  to 
know  me.  Only  pray  for  my  soul,  for  I  shall  not  escape 
Boguslav's  hands.  Let  that  come  upon  me  which  has  to 
come ;  but  another  friend  of  yours,  who  shared  every 
morsel  of  bread  with  you,  is  now  on  his  death-bed,  and 
wishes  to  see  you  without  fail.  He  is  unwilling  to  die 
without  you  ;  for  he  has  some  confession  to  make  on  which 
his  soul's  peace  depends." 

Pan  Michael,  who  had  heard  of  Zagloba's  danger  with 
great  emotion,  sprang  forward  now,  and  seizing  him  by  the 
arms,  inquired,  "  Is  it  Pan  Yan  ?  " 

"  No,  not  Yan,  but  Ketling  !  " 

"  For  God's  sake !  what  has  happened  to  him  ?  " 

"  He  was  shot  by  Prince  Boguslav's  ruffians  while  defend- 
ing me ;  I  know  not  whether  he  will  be  alive  in  twenty-four 
hours.  It  is  for  you,  Michael,  that  we  have  both  fallen 
into  these  straits,-  for  we  came  to  Warsaw  only  to  think  out 
some  consolation  for  you.  Come  for  even  two  days,  and 
console  a  dying  man.  You  will  return  later;  you  will 
become  a  monk.  I  have  brought  the  recommendation  of 
the  primate  to  the  prior  to  raise  no  impediment  against 
you.  Only  hasten,  for  every  moment  is  precious." 

"For  God's  sake!"  cried  Pan  Michael;  "what  do  I  hear? 
Impediments  cannot  keep  me,  for  so  far  I  am  here  only  on 


I'AX    MICHAEL.  33 

meditation.     As  God  lives,  the  prayer  of  a  dying  man  is 
sacred  !  I  cannot  refuse  that." 

"  It  would  be  a  mortal  sin  !  "  cried  Zagloba. 

"  That  is  true !  It  is  always  that  traitor,  Boguslav  — 
But  if  I  do  not  avenge  Ketling,  may  I  never  come  back ! 
I  will  find  those  ruffians,  and  I  will  split  their  skulls  !  O 
Great  God  !  sinful  thoughts  are  already  attacking  me ! 
Memento  morif  Only  wait  here  till  I  put  on  my  old 
clothes,  for  it  is  not  permitted  to  go  out  in  the  habit." 

"Here  are  clothes!"  cried  Zagloba,  springing  to  the 
bundle,  which  was  lying  there  on  the  bench  near  them.  "  I 
foresaw  everything,  prepared  everything!  Here  are  boots, 
a  rapier,  a  good  overcoat." 

"  Come  to  the  cell,"  said  the  little  knight,  with  haste. 

They  went  to  the  cell ;  and  when  they  came  out  again, 
near  Zagloba  walked,  not  a  white  monk,  but  an  officer  with 
yellow  boots  to  the  knees,  with  a  rapier  at  his  side,  and  a 
white  pendant  across  his  shoulder.  Zagloba  blinked  and 
smiled  under  his  mustaches  at  sight  of  the  brother  at  the 
door,  who,  evidently  scandalized,  opened  the  gate  to  the 
two. 

Not  far  from  the  cloister  and  lower  down,  Zagloba's 
wagon  was  waiting,  and  with  it  two  attendants.  One  was 
sitting  on  the  seat,  holding  the  reins  of  four  well-attached 
horses ;  at  these  Pan  Michael  cast  quickly  the  eye  of  an 
expert.  The  other  stood  near  the  wagon,  with  a  mouldy, 
big-bellied  bottle  in  one  hand,  and  two  goblets  in  the 
other. 

"  It  is  a  good  stretch  of  road  to  Mokotov,"  said  Zagloba; 
"and  harsh  sorrow  is  waiting  for  us  at  the  bedside  of 
Ketling.  Drink  something,  Michael,  to  gain  strength  to 
endure  all  this,  for  you  are  greatly  reduced." 

Saying  this,  Zagloba  took  the  bottle  from  the  hands  of 
the  man  and  filled  both  glasses  with  Hungarian  so  old  that 
it  was  thick  from  age. 

•"This  is  a  goodly  drink,"  said  Zagloba,  placing  the  bottle 
on  the  ground  and  taking  the  goblets.  "  To  the  health  of 
Ketling ! " 

"  To  his  health  ! "  repeated  Pan  Michael.  "  Let  us 
hurry  !  " 

They  emptied  the  glasses  at  a  draught. 

"  Let  us  hurry,"  repeated  Zagloba.  "  Pour  out,  man ! " 
said  he,  turning  to  the  servant.  "To  the  health  of  Pan 
Yan !  Let  us  hurry  !  " 

3 


34  PAN   MICHAEL. 

They  emptied  the  goblets  again  at  a  draught,  for  there 
was  real  urgency. 

"  Let  us  take  our  seats  !  "  cried  Pan  Michael. 

"  But  will  you  not  drink  my  health  ? "  asked  Zagloba, 
with  a  complaining  voice. 

« If  quickly !  " 

And  they  drank  quickly.  Zagloba  emptied  the  goblet  at 
a  breath,  though  there  was  half  a  quart  in  it,  then  without 
wiping  his  mustaches,  he  cried,  "  I  should  be  thankless  not 
to  drink  your  health.  Pour  out,  man  !  " 

"  With  thanks  !  "  answered  Brother  Yerzy. 

The  bottom  appeared  in  the  bottle,  which  Zagloba  seized 
by  the  neck  and  broke  into  small  pieces,  for  he  never  could 
endure  the  sight  of  empty  vessels.  Then  he  took  his  seat 
quickly,  and  they  rode  on. 

The  noble  drink  soon  filled  their  veins  with  benefi- 
cent warmth,  and  their  hearts  with  a  certain  consolation. 
The  cheeks  of  Brother  Yerzy  were  covered  with  a  slight 
scarlet,  and  his  glance  regained  its  former  vivacity.  He 
stretched  his  hand  unwittingly  once,  twice,  to  his  mus- 
taches, and  turned  them  upward  like  awls,  till  at  last  they 
came  near  his  eyes.  He  began  meanwhile  to  gaze  around 
with  great  curiosity,  as  if  looking  at  the  country  for  the 
first  time.  All  at  once  Zagloba  struck  his  palms  on  his 
knees  and  cried  without  evident  reason,  — 

"  Ho  !  ho !  I  hope  that  Ketling  will  return  to  health  when 
he  sees  you  !  Ho  !  ho  ! " 

And  clasping  Pan  Michael  around  the  neck,  he  began  to 
embrace  him  with  all  his  power.  Pan  Michael  did  not  wish 
to  remain  in  debt  to  Zagloba;  he  pressed  him  Avith  the 
utmost  sincerity.  They  went  on  for  some  time  in  silence, 
but  in  a  happy  one.  Meanwhile  the  small  houses  of  the 
suburbs  began  to  appear  on  both  sides  of  the  road.  Before 
the  houses  there  was  a  great  movement.  On  this  side  and 
that,  townspeople  were  strolling,  servants  in  various  liveries, 
soldiers  and  nobles,  frequently  very  well-dressed. 

"  Swarms  of  nobles  have  come  to  the  Diet,"  said  Zagloba ; 
"  for  though  not  one  of  them  is  a  deputy,  they  wish  to  be 
present,  to  hear  and  to  see.  The  houses  and  inns  are  so 
filled  everywhere  that  it  is  hard  to  find  a  room,  and  how 
many  noble  women  are  strolling  along  the  streets  !  I  tell 
you  that  you  could  not  count  them  on  the  hairs  of  your 
beard.  They  are  pretty  too,  the  rogues,  so  that  sometimes 
a  man  has  the  wish  to  slap  his  hands  on  his  sides  as  a  cock 


PAN   MICHAEL.  35 

does  his  wings,  and  crow.  But  look  !  look  at  that  brunette 
behind  whom  the  haiduk  is  carrying  the  green  shuba  ;  is  n't 
she  splendid  ?  Eh  ?  " 

Here  Zagloba  nudged  Pan  Michael  in  the  side  with  his 
fist,  and  Pan  Michael  looked,  moved  his  mustaches ;  his 
eyes  glittered,  but  in  that  moment  he  grew  shamefaced, 
dropped  his  head,  and  said  after  a  brief  silence,  "  Memento 
mori !  " 

But  Zagloba  clasped  him  again,  and  cried,  "As  you  love 
me,  per  amicitiam  nostram  (by  our  friendship),  as  you  re- 
spect me,  get  married.  There  are  so  many  worthy  maidens, 
get  married !  " 

Brother  Yerzy  looked  with  astonishment  on  his  friend. 
Zagloba  could  not  be  drunk,  however,  for  many  a  time  he 
had  taken  thrice  as  much  wine  without  visible  effect ;  there- 
fore he  spoke  only  from  tenderness.  But  all  thoughts  of 
marriage  were  far  away  then  from  the  head  of  Pan  Michael, 
so  that  in  the  first  instant  astonishment  overcame  in  him 
indignation ;  then  he  looked  severely  into  the  eyes  of 
Zagloba  and  asked,  — 

"  Are  you  tipsy  ?  " 

"  From  my  whole  heart  I  say  to  you,  get  married !  " 

Pan  Michael  looked  still  more  severely.  "  Memento 
mori." 

But  Zagloba  was  not  easily  disconcerted.  "  Michael,  if  you 
love  me,  do  this  for  me,  and  kiss  a  dog  on  the  snout  with 
your  '  memento.'  I  repeat,  you  will  do  as  you  please,  but  I 
think  in  this  way :  Let  each  man  serve  God  with  that  for 
which  he  was  created ;  and  God  created  you  for  the  sword : 
in  this  His  will  is  evident,  since  He  has  permitted  you  to 
attain  such  perfection  in  the  use  of  it.  In  case  He  wished 
you  to  be  a  priest,  He  would  have  adorned  you  with  a  wit 
altogether  different,  and  inclined  your  heart  more  to  books 
and  to  Latin.  Consider,  too,  that  soldier  saints  enjoy  no 
less  respect  in  heaven  than  saints  with  vows,  and  they  go 
campaigning  against  the  legions  of  hell,  and  receive  rewards 
from  God's  hands  when  they  return  with  captured  banners. 
All  this  is  true ;  you  will  not  deny  it  ?  " 

"  I  d.o  not  deny  it,  and  I  know  that  it  is  hard  to  skirmish 
against  your  reasoning  ;  but  you  also  will  not  deny  that  for 
grief  life  is  better  in  the  cloister  than  in  the  world." 

"  If  it  is  better,  bah !  then  all  the  more  should  cloisters 
be  shunned.  Dull  is  the  man  who  feeds  mourning  instead 
of  keeping  it  hungry,  so  that  the  beast  may  die  of  famine  as 
quickly  as  possible." 


36  PAN   MICHAEL. 

Pan  Michael  found  no  ready  argument ;  therefore  he  was 
silent,  and  only  after  a  while  answered  with  a  sad  voice, 
"Do  not  mention  marriage,  for  such  mention  only  rouses 
fresh  grief  in  me.  My  old  desire  will  not  revive,  for  it  has 
passed  away  with  tears;  and  my  years  are  not  suitable. 
My  hair  is  beginning  to  whiten.  Forty-two  years,  and 
twenty-five  of  them  spent  in  military  toil,  are  no  jest,  no 
jest ! " 

"  0  God,  do  not  punish  him  for  blasphemy  !  Forty-two 
years !  Tfu !  I  have  more  than  twice  as  many  on  my 
shoulders,  and  still  at  times  I  must  discipline  myself  to 
shake  the  heat  out  of  my  blood,  as  dust  is  shaken  from 
clothing.  Respect  the  memory  of  that  dear  dead  one. 
You  were  good  enough  for  her,  I  suppose  ?  But  for  others 
are  you  too  cheap,  too  old  ?  " 

"Give  me  peace!  give  me  peace!"  said  Pan  Michael, 
with  a  voice  of  pain ;  and  the  tears  began  to  flow  to  his 
mustaches. 

"  I  will  not  say  another  syllable,"  added  Zagloba ;  "  only 
give  me  the  word  of  a  cavalier  that  no  matter  what  happens 
to  Ketling  you  will  stay  a  month  with  us.  You  must  see 
Yau.  If  you  wish  afterward  to  return  to  the  cloister,  no 
one  will  raise  an  impediment." 

"  I  give  my  word,3'  said  Pan  Michael. 

And  they  fell  to  talking  of  something  else.  Zagloba  be- 
gan to  tell  of  the  Diet,  and  how  he  had  raised  the  question 
of  excluding  Prince  Boguslav,  and  of  the  adventure  with 
Ketling.  Occasionally,  however,  he  interrupted  the  narrative 
and  buried  himself  in  thoughts  ;  they  must  have  been  cheer- 
ful, for  from  time  to  time  he  struck  his  knees  with  his 
palms,  and  repeated,  — 

"  Ho  !  ho !  " 

But  as  he  approached  Mokotov,  a  certain  disquiet  appeared 
on  his  face.  He  turned  suddenly  to  Pan  Michael  and  said, 
"  Your  word  is  given,  you  remember,  that  no  matter  what 
happens  to  Ketling,  you  will  stay  a  month  with  us." 

"  I  gave  it,  and  I  will  stay,"  said  Pan  Michael. 

" Here  is  Ketling's  house,"  cried  Zagloba,  —  "a  respect- 
able place."  Then  he  shouted  to  the  driver,  "  Fire  .out  of 
your  whip  !  There  will  be  a  festival  in  this  house  to-day." 

Loud  cracks  were  heard  from  the  whip.  But  the  wagon 
had  not  entered  the  gate  when  a  number  of  officers  rushed 
from  the  ante-room,  acquaintances  of  Pan  Michael ;  among 
them  also  were  old  comrades  from  the  days  of  Hmelnitski 


PAN    MICHAKL.  .S7 

and  young  officers  of  recent  times.  Of  the  latter  were  Pan 
Vasilevski  and  Pan  Novoveski,  —  youths  yet,  but  fiery 
cavaliers  who  in  years  of  boyhood  had  broken  away  from 
school  and  had  been  working  at  war  for  some  years  under 
Pan  Michael.  These  the  little  knight  loved  beyond 
measure.  Among  the  oldest  was  Pan  Orlik  of  the  shield 
Novin,  with  a  skull  stopped  with  gold,  for  a  Swedish 
grenade  had  taken  a  piece  of  it  on  a  time ;  and  Pan 
Rushchyts,  a  half-wild  knight  of  the  steppes,  an  incom- 
parable partisan,  second  in  fame  to  Pan  Michael  alone ;  and 
a  number  of  others.  All,  seeing  the  two  men  in  the  wagon, 
began  to  shout,  — 

"  He  is  there  !  he  is  there  !  Zagloba  has  conquered  !  He 
is  there  ! " 

And  rushing  to  the  wagon,  they  seized  the  little  knight 
in  their  arms  and  bore  him  to  the  entrance,  repeating, 
"  Welcome  !  dearest  comrade,  live  for  us  !  We  have  you ; 
we  won't  let  you  go!  Vivat  Volodyovski,  the  first  cava- 
lier, the  ornament  of  the  whole  army  !  To  the  steppe  with 
us,  brother !  To  the  wild  fields  !  There  the  wind  will  blow 
your  grief  away." 

They  let  him  out  of  their  arms  only  at  the  entrance.  He 
greeted  them  all,  for  he  was  greatly  touched  by  that  recep- 
tion, and  then  he  inquired  at  once,  "  How  is  Ketling  ?  Is 
he  alive  yet  ?  " 

"  Alive  !  alive  ! "  answered  they,  in  a  chorus,  and  the 
mustaches  of  the  old  soldiers  began  to  move  with  a  strange 
smile.  "Go  to  him,  for  he  cannot  stay  lying  down;  he  is 
waiting  for  you  impatiently." 

"  I  see  that  he  is  not  so  near  death  as  Pan  Zagloba  said," 
answered  the  little  knight. 

Meanwhile  they  entered  the  ante-room  and  passed  thence 
to  a  large  chamber,  in  the  middle  of  which  stood  a  table 
with  a  feast  on  it ;  in  one  corner  was  a  plank  bed  covered 
with  white  horse-skin,  on  which  Ketling  was  lying. 

"  Oh,  my  friend ! "  said  Pan  Michael,  hastening  toward 
him. 

"  Michael ! "  cried  Ketling,  and  springing  to  his  feet  as 
if  in  the  fulness  of  strength,  he  seized  the  little  knight  in 
his  embrace. 

They  pressed  each  other  then  so  eagerly  that  Ketling 
raised  Volodyovski,  and  Volodyovski  Ketling. 

"  They  commanded  me  to  simulate  sickness,"  said  the 
Scot,  "to  feign  death;  but  when  I  saw  you,  I  could  not 


38  PAN   MICHAEL. 

hold  out.  I  am  as  well  as  a  fish,  and  no  misfortune  has 
met  me.  But  it  was  a  question  of  getting  you  out  of  the 
cloister.  Forgive,  Michael.  We  invented  this  ambush  out 
of  love  for  you." 

"  To  the  wild  fields  with  us ! "  cried  the  knights,  again ; 
and  they  struck  with  their  firm  palms  on  their  sabres  till  a 
terrible  clatter  was  raised  in  the  room. 

But  Pan  Michael  was  astounded.  For  a  time  he  was 
silent,  then  he  began  to  look  at  all,  especially  at  Zagloba. 
"  Oh,  traitors  ! "  exclaimed  he,  at  last,  "  I  thought  that  Ket- 
ling  was  wounded  unto  death." 

"  How  is  that,  Michael  ?  "  cried  Zagloba.  "  You  are  angry 
because  Ketling  is  well  ?  You  grudge  him  his  health,  and 
wish  death  to  him  ?  Has  your  heart  become  stone  in  such 
fashion  that  you  would  gladly  see  all  of  us  ghosts,  and  Ket- 
ling, and  Pan  Orlik,  and  Pan  Rushchyts,  and  these  youths, 
—  nay,  even  Pan  Yan,  even  me,  who  love  you  as  a  son  ?  " 
Here  Zagloba  closed  his  eyes  and  cried  still  more  piteously, 
"  We  have  nothing  to  live  for,  gracious  gentlemen ;  there 
is  no  thankfulness  left  in  this  world ;  there  is  nothing  but 
callousness." 

"For  God's  sake  ! "  answered  Pan  Michael,  "  I  do  not  wish 
you  ill,  but  you  have  not  respected  my  grief." 

"  Have  pity  on  our  lives  !"  repeated  Zagloba. 

"  Give  me  peace ! " 

"  He  says  that  we  show  no  respect  to  his  grief ;  but  what 
fountains  we  have  poured  out  over  him,  gracious  gentle- 
men !  We  have,  Michael.  I  take  God  to  witness  that  we 
should  be  glad  to  bear  apart  your  grief  on  our  sabres,  for 
comrades  should  always  act  thus.  But  since  you  have  given 
your  word  to  stay  with  us  a  month,  then  love  us  at  least  for 
that  month." 

"  I  will  love  you  till  death,"  said  Pan  Michael. 

Further  conversation  was  interrupted  by  the  coming  of  a 
new  guest.  The  soldiers,  occupied  with  Volodyovski,  had 
not  heard  the  arrival  of  that  guest,  and  saw  him  only 
when  he  was  standing  in  the  door.  He  was  a  man  enor- 
mous in  stature,  of  majestic  form  and  bearing.  He  had  the 
face  of  a  Roman  emperor ;  in  it  was  power,  and  at  the  same 
time  the  true  kindness  and  courtesy  of  a  monarch.  He  dif- 
fered entirely  from  all  those  soldiers  around  him ;  he  grew 
notably  greater  in  face  of  them,  as  if  the  eagle,  king  of 
birds,  had  appeared  among  hawks,  falcons,  and  merlins. 

"  The  grand  hetman  ! "  cried  Ketling,  and  sprang  up,  as 
the  host,  to  greet  him. 


PAN   MICHAEL.  39 

"Pan  Sobieski  !  "  cried  others. 

All  heads  were  inclined  in  an  obeisance  of  deep  homage. 
All  save  Pan  Michael  knew  that  the  hetman  would  come, 
for  he  had  promised  Ketling ;  still,  his  arrival  had  produced 
so  profound  an  impression  that  for  a  time  no  one  dared 
to  speak  first.  That  too  was  homage  extraordinary.  But 
Sobieski  loved  soldiers  beyond  all  men,  especially  those 
with  whom  he  had  galloped  over  the  necks  of  Tartar  chani- 
buls  so  often ;  he  looked  -on  them  as  his  own  family,  and 
for  this  reason  specially  he  had  determined  to  greet  Volo- 
dyovski,  to  comfort  him,  and  finally,  by  showing  such 
unusual  favor  and  attention,  to  retain  him  in  the  ranks 
of  the  army.  Therefore  when  he  had  greeted  Ketling, 
he  stretched  out  his  hands  at  once  to  the  little  knight ; 
and  when  the  latter  approached  and  seized  him  by  the 
knees,  Sobieski  pressed  the  head  of  Pan  Michael  with  his 
palms. 

"Old  soldier,"  said  he,  "the  hand  of  God  has  bent  thee 
to  the  earth,  but  it  will  raise  thee,  and  give  comfort.  God 
aid  thee  !  Thou  wilt  stay  with  us  now." 

Sobbing  shook  the  breast  of  Pan  Michael.  "  I  will  stay ! " 
said  he,  with  tears. 

"That  is  well;  give  me  of  such  men  as  many  as  possible. 
And  now,  old  comrade,  let  us  recall  those  times  which 
we  passed  in  the  Russian  steppes,  when  we  sat  down  to 
feast  under  tents.  I  am  happy  among  you.  Now,  our 
host,  how !  " 

"  Vivat  Joannes  dux  !  "  shouted  every  voice. 

The  feast  began  and  lasted  long.  Next  day  the  hetman 
sent  a  cream-colored  steed  of  great  price  to  Pan  Michael. 


4()  PAN   MICHAEL. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

KETLING  and  Pan  Michael  promised  each  other  to  ride 
stirrup  to  stirrup  again  should  occasion  offer,  to  sit  at  one 
fire,  and  to  sleep  with  their  heads  on  one-  saddle.  But 
meanwhile  an  event  separated  them.  Not  later  than  a  week 
after  their  first  greeting,  a  messenger  came  from  Courland 
with  notice  that  that  Hassling  who  had  adopted  the  youth- 
ful Scot  and  given  him  his  property  had  fallen  suddenly 
ill,  and  wished  greatly  to  see  his  adopted  son.  The  young 
knight  did  not  hesitate;  he  mounted  his  horse  and  rode 
away.  Before  his  departure  he  begged  Zagloba  and  Pan 
Michael  to  consider  his  house  as  their  own,  and  to  live  there 
until  they  were  tired  of  it. 

"  Pan  Yan  may  come,"  said  he.  "  During  the  election  he 
will  come  himself  surely ;  even  should  he  bring  all  his 
children^  there  will  be  room  here  for  the  whole  family.  I 
have  no  relatives  ;  and  even  if  I  had  brothers,  they  would 
not  be  nearer  to  me  than  you  are." 

Zagloba  especially  was  gratified  by  these  invitations,  for  he 
was  very  comfortable  in  Ketling's  house ;  but  they  were  pleas- 
ant for  Pan  Michael  also.  Pan  Yan  did  not  come,  but  Pan 
Michael's  sister  announced  her  arrival.  She  was  married 
to  Pan  Makovetski,  stolnik  of  Latychov.  His  messenger 
came  to  the  residence  of  the  hetman  to  inquire  if  any 
of  his  attendants  knew  of  the  little  knight.  Evidently 
Ketling's  house  was  indicated  to  him  at  once. 

Volodyovski  was  greatly  delighted,  for  whole  years  had 
passed  since  he  had  seen  his  sister ;  and  when  he  learned 
that,  in  absence  of  better  lodgings,  she  had  stopped  at 
llybaki  in  a  poor  little  cottage,  he  flew  off  straightway  to 
invite  her  to  Ketling's  house.  It  was  dusk  when  he  rushed 
into  her  presence ;  but  he-  knew  her  at  once,  though  two 
other  women  were  with  her  in  the  room,  for  the  lady  was 
small  of  stature,  like  a  ball  of  thread.  She  too  recognized 
him ;  while  the  other  women  stood  like  two  candles  and 
looked  at  the  greeting. 

Pani  Makovetski  found  speech  first,  and  began  to  cry  out 
in  a  thin  and  rather  squeaking  voice,  "  So  many  years,  — 


PAN   MICHAKI,  41 

so  many  years  !  God  give  you  aid,  dearest  brother  !  The 
moment  the  news  of  your  misfortune  came,  I  sprang  up  at 
once  to  come  hither ;  and  my  husband  did  not  detain  me, 
for  a  storm  is  threatening  us  from  the  side  of  Budjyak. 
People  are  talking  also  of  the  Belgrod  Tartars  ;  and  surely 
the  roads  are  growing  black,  for  tremendous  jlocks  of  birds 
are  appearing,  and  before  every  invasion  it  is  that  way. 
God  console  you,  beloved,  dear,  golden  brother!  My 
husband  must  come  to  the  election  himself,  so  this  is 
what  he  said  :  '  Take  the  young  ladies,  and  go  on  before  me. 
You  will  comfort  Michael,'  said  he,  'in  his  grief;  and  you 
must  hide  your  head  somewhere  from  the  Tartars,  for  the 
country  here  Avill  be  in  a  blaze,  therefore  one  thing  fits  with 
another.  Go,'  said  he,  '  to  Warsaw,  hire  good  lodgings  in 
time,  so  there  may  be  some  place  to  live  in.'  He,  with  men 
of  those  parts,  is  listening  on  the  roads.  There  are  few 
troops  in  the  country ;  it  is  always  that  way  with  us.  You, 
Michael,  my  loved  one,  come  to  the  window,  let  me  look  in 
your  face ;  your  lips  have  grown  thin,  but  in  grief  it  can- 
not be  otherwise.  It  was  easy  for  my  husband  to  say  in 
Kussia,  'Find  lodgings!'  but  here  there  is  nothing  any- 
where. We  are  in  this  hovel ;  you  see  it.  I  have  hardly 
been  able  to  get  three  bundles  of  straw  to  sleep  on." 

"  Permit  me,  sister,"  said  the  little  knight. 

But  the  sister  would  not  permit,  and  spoke  on,  as  if  a 
mill  were  rattling :  "  We  stopped  here  ;  there  was  no  other 
place.  My  host  looks  out  of  his  eyes  like  a  wolf ;  maybe 
they  are  bad  people  in  the  house.  It  is  true  that  we  have 
four  attendants,  —  trusty  fellows,  —  and  we  ourselves  are 
not  timid,  for  in  our  parts  a  woman  must  have  a  cavalier's 
heart,  or  she  could  not  live  there.  I  have  a  pistol  which  I 
carry  always,  and  Basia  l  has  two  of  them ;  but  Krysia 2 
does  not  like  fire-arms.  This  is  a  strange  place,  though, 
and  we  prefer  safer  lodgings." 

"  Permit  me,  sister,"  repeated  Volodyovski. 

'•'But  where  do  you. live,  Michael?  You  must  help  me 
to  find  lodgings,  for  you  have  experience  in  Warsaw." 

"  I  have  lodgings  ready,"  interrupted  Pan  Michael,  "  and 
such  good  ones  that  a  senator  might  occupy  them  with  his 
retinue.  I  live  with  my  friend,  Captain  Ketling,  and  will 
take  you  with  me  at  once." 

1  Diminutive  of  Barbara. 

2  Diminutive  of   Krvstina,  or  Christiana. 


42  PAN   MICHAEL. 

"But  remember  that  there  are  three  of  us,  and  two 
servants  and  four  attendants.  But  for  God's  sake !  I 
have  not  made  you  acquainted  with  the  company."  Here 
she  turned  to  her  companions.  "  You  know,  young  ladies, 
who  he  is,  but  he  does  not  know  you ;  make  acquaintance 
even  in  the  dark.  The  host  has  not  heated  the  stove  for  us 
yet.  This  is  Panna  Krystina  Drohoyovski,  and  that  Panna 
Barbara  Yezorkovski.  My  husband  is  their  guardian,  and 
takes  care  of  their  property  ;  they  live  with  us,  for  they  are 
orphans.  To  live  alone  does  not  beseem  such  young  ladies." 

While  his  sister  was  speaking,  Pan  Michael  bowed  in 
soldier  fashion  ;  the  young  ladies,  seizing  their  skirts  with 
their  fingers,  courtesied,  wherewith  Panna  Barbara  nodded 
like  a  young  colt. 

"  Let  us  take  our  seats  in  the  carriage,  and  drive  on  ! "  said 
the  little  knight.  "  Pan  Zagloba  lives  with  me.  I  asked 
him  to  have  supper  prepared  for  us." 

"  That  famous  Pan  Zagloba  ? "  asked  Panna  Basia,  all 
at  once. 

"Basia,  be  quiet ! "  said  the  lady.  "  I  am  afraid  that 
there  will  be  annoyance." 

"  Oh,  if  Pan  Zagloba  has  his  mind  on  supper,"  said  the 
little  knight,  "there  will  be  enough,  even  if  twice  as  many 
were  to  come.  And,  young  ladies,  will  you  give  command 
to  <!arry  out  the  trunks  ?  I  brought  a  wagon  too  for  things, 
and  Ketling's  carriage  is  so  wide  that  we  four  can  sit  in  it 
easily.  See  what  comes  to  my  head;  if  your  attendants 
are  not  drunken  fellows,  let  them  stay  here  till  morning 
with  the  horses  and  larger  effects.  We'll  take  now  only 
what  things  are  required  most." 

"  We  need  leave  nothing,"  said  the  lady,  "  for  our  wagons 
are  still  unpacked ;  just  attach  the  horses,  and  they  can 
move  at  once.  Basia,  go  and  give  orders !  " 

Basia  sprang  to  the  entrance ;  and  a  few  "  Our  Fathers  " 
later  she  returned  with  the  announcement  that  all  was 
ready. 

"  It  is  time  to  go,"  said  Pan  Michael. 

After  a  while  they  took  their  seats  in  the  carriage  and 
moved  on  toward  Mokotov.  Pan  Michael's  sister  and  Panna 
Krysia  occupied  the  rear  seats ;  in  front  sat  the  little 
knight  at  the  side  of  Basia.  It  was  so  dark  already  that 
they  could  not  see  one  another's  features. 

"  Young  ladies,  do  you  know  Warsaw  ? "  asked  Pan 
Michael,  bending  toward  Panna  Krysia,  and  raising  his 
voice  above  the  rattle  of  the  carriage. 


PAN   MICHAEL.  4; 5 

"  No,"  answered  Krysia,  in  a  low  but  resonant  and  agree- 
able voice.  "  We  are  real  rustics,  and  up  to  this  time  have 
known  neither  famous  cities  nor  famous  men." 

Saying  this,  she  inclined  her  head  somewhat,  as  if  giving 
to  understand  that  she  counted  Pan  Michael  among  the 
latter;  he  received  the  answer  thankfully.  "A  polite  sort 
of  maiden  !  "  thought  he,  and  straightway  began  to  rack 
his  head  over  some  kind  of  compliment  to  be  made  in 
return. 

"  Even  if  the  city  were  ten  times  greater  than  it  is,"  said 
he  at  last,  u  still,  ladies,  you  might  be  its  most  notable 
ornament." 

"  But  how  do  you  know  that  in  the  dark  ? "  inquired 
Panna  Basia,  on  a  sudden. 

"  Ah,  here  is  a  kid  for  you !  "  thought  Pan  Michael. 

But  he  said  nothing,  and  they  rode  on  in  silence  for  some 
time ;  Basia  turned  again  to  the  little  knight  and  asked, 
"  Do  you  know  whether  there  will  be  room  enough  in  the 
stable  ?  We  have  ten  horses  and  two  wagons." 

"Even  if  there  were  thirty,  there  would  be  room  for 
them." 

"Hwew  !  hwew!  "  exclaimed  the  young  lady. 

"  Basia  !  Basia  !  "  said  Pani  Makovetski,  persuasively. 

"  Ah,  it  is  easy  to  say,  '  Basia,  Basia ! '  but  in  whose  care 
were  the  horses  during  the  whole  journey  ?  " 

Conversing  thus,  they  arrived  before  Ketling's  house. 
All  the  windows  were  brilliantly  lighted  to  receive  the 
lady.  The  servants  ran  out  with  Pan  Zagloba  at  the  head 
of  them ;  he,  springing  to  the  wagon  and  seeing  three 
women,  inquired  straightway,  — 

"  In  which  lady  have  I  the  honor  to  greet  my  special 
benefactress,  and  at  the  same  time  the  sister  of  my  best 
friend,  Michael  ?  " 

"  I  am  she  !  "  answered  the  lady. 

Then  Zagloba  seized  her  hand,  and  fell  to  kissing  it 
eagerly,  exclaiming,  "  I  beat  with  the  forehead,  —  I  beat 
with  the  forehead  !  " 

Then  he  helped  her  to  descend  from  the  carriage,  and 
conducted  her  with  great  attention  and  clattering  of  feet  to 
the  ante-room.  "  Let  me  be  permitted  to  give  greeting 
once  more  inside  the  threshold,"  said  he,  on  the  way. 

Meanwhile  Pan  Michael  was  helping  the  young  ladies  to 
descend.  Since  the  carriage  was  high,  and  it  was  difficult 
to  find  the  steps  in  the  darkness,  he  caught  Panna  Krysia 


44  PAN  MICHAEL. 

by  the  waist,  and  bearing  her  through  the  air,  placed  hei 
on  the  ground ;  and  she,  without  resisting,  inclined  during 
the  twinkle  of  an  eye  her  breast  on  his,  and  said,  "  I  thank 
you." 

Pan  Michael  turned  then  to  Basia ;  but  she  had  already 
jumped  down  on  the  other  side  of  the  carriage,  therefore 
he  gave  his  arm  to  Panna  Krysia.  In  the  room  acquaint- 
ance with  Zagloba  followed.  He,  at  sight  of  the  two  young 
ladies,  fell  into  perfect  good-humor,  and  invited  them 
straightway  to  supper.  The  platters*  were  steaming  already 
on  the  table ;  and  as  Pan  Michael  had  foreseen,  there  was 
such  an  abundance  that  it  would  have  sufficed  for  twice  as 
many  persons. 

They  sat  down.  Pan  Michael's  sister  occupied  the  first 
place  ;  next  to  her,  on  the  right,  sat  Zagloba,  and  beyond 
him  Panna  Basia.  Pan  Michael  sat  on  the  left  side  near 
Panna  Krysia.  And  now  for  the  first  time  the  little  knight 
was  able  to  have  a  good  look  at  the  ladies.  Both  were 
comely,  but  each  in  her  own  style.  Krysia  had  hair  as 
black  as  the  wings  of  a  raven,  brows  of  the  same  color, 
deep-blue  eyes  ;  she  was  a  pale  brunette,  but  of  complexion 
so  delicate  that  the  blue  veins  on  her  temples  were  visible. 
A  barely  discernible  dark  down  covered  her  upper  lip, 
showing  a  mouth  sweet  and  attractive,  as  if  put  slightly 
forward  for  a  kiss.  She  was  in  mourning,  for  she  had  lost 
her  father  not  long  before,  and  the  color  of  her  garments, 
with  the  delicacy  of  her  complexion  and  her  dark  hair,  lent 
her  a  certain  appearance  of  pensiveness  and  severity.  At 
the  first  glance  she -seemed  older  than  her  companion  ;  but 
when  he  had  looked  at  her  more  closely,  Pan  Michael  saw 
that  the  blood  of  first  youth  was  flowing  under  that  trans- 
parent skin.  The  more  he  looked,  the  more  he  admired  the 
distinction  of  her  posture,  the  swanlike  neck,  and  those 
proportions  so  full  of  maiden  charms. 

"  She  is  a  great  lady,"  thought  he,  "  who  must  have  a 
great  soul ;  but  the  other  is  a  regular  tomboy." 

In  fact,  the  comparison  was  just.  Basia  was  much 
smaller  than  her  companion,  and  generally  minute,  though 
not  meagre  ;  she  was  ruddy  as  a  bunch  of  roses,  and  light- 
haired.  Her  hair  had  been  cut,  apparently  after  illness, 
and-  she  wore  it  gathered  in  a  golden  net.  But  the  hair 
would  not  sit  quietly  on  her  restless  head ;  the  ends  of  it 
were  peeping  out  through  every  mesh  of  the  net,  and  over 
her  forehead  formed  an  unordered  yellow  tuft  which  fell  to 


PAN  MICHAEL.  45 

her  brows  like  the  tuft  of  a  Cossack,  which,  with  her  quick, 
restless  eyes  and  challenging  mien,  made  that  rosy  face 
like  the  face  of  a  student  who  is  only  watching  to  embroil 
some  one  and  go  unpunished  himself.  Still,  she  was  so 
shapely  and  fresh  that  it  was  difficult  to  take  one's  eyes 
from  her ;  she  had  a  slender  nose,  somewhat  in  the  air, 
with  nostrils  dilating  and  active ;  she  had  dimples  in  her 
cheeks  and  a  dimple  in  her  chin,  indicating  a  joyous  dispo- 
sition. But  now  she  was  sitting  with  dignity  and  eating 
heartily,  only  shooting  glances  every  little  while,  now  at 
Pan  Zagloba,  now  at  Volodyovski,  and  looking  at  them  with 
almost  childlike  curiosity,  as  if  at  some  special  wonder. 

Pan  Michael  was  silent ;  for  though  he  felt  it  his  duty 
to  entertain  Panna  Krysia,  he  did  not  know  how  to  begin. 
In  general,  the  little  knight  was  not  happy  in  conversa- 
tion with  ladies ;  but  now  he  was  the  more  gloomy,  since 
these  maidens  brought  vividly  to  his  mind  the  dear  dead 
one. 

•  Pan  Zagloba  entertained  Pani  Makovetski,  detailing 
to  her  the  deeds  of  Pan  Michael  and  himself.  In  the 
middle  of  the  supper  he  fell  to  relating  how  once  they  had 
escaped  with  Princess  Kurtsevich  and  Jendzian,  four  of 
them,  through  a  whole  chambul,  and  how,  finally,  to  save 
the  princess  and  stop  the  pursuit,  they  two  had  hurled 
themselves  on  the  chambul. 

Basia  stopped  eating,  and  resting  her  chin  on  her  hand, 
listened  carefully,  shaking  her  forelock,  at  moments  blink- 
ing, and  snapping  her  fingers  in  the  most  interesting  places, 
and  repeating,  "  Ah,  ah  !  Well,  what  next  ?  "  But  when 
they  came  to  the  place  where  Kushel's  dragoons  rushed  up 
with  aid  unexpectedly,  sat  on  the  necks  of  the  Tartars,  and 
rode  on,  slashing  them,  for  three  miles,  she  could  contain 
herself  no  longer,  but  clapping  her  hands  with  all  her 
might,  cried,  "  Ah,  I  should  like  to  be  there,  God  knows  I 
should  ! " 

"  Basia  !  "  cried  the  plump  little  Pani  Makovetski,  with  a 
strong  Russian  accent,  ''you  have  come  among  polite  people ; 
put  away  your  '  God  knows.'  O  Thou  Great  God !  this  alone 
is  lacking,  Basia,  that  you  should  cry,  'May  the  bullets 
strike  me  ! ' ' 

The  maiden  burst  out  into  fresh  laughter,  resonant  as 
silver,  and  cried,  "  Well,  then,  auntie,  may  the  bullets 
strike  me !  " 

"  0  my  God,  the  ears  are  withering  on  me  !  Beg  pardon 
of  the  whole  company  !  "  cried  the  lady. 


46  PAN  MICHAEL 

Then  Basia,  wishing  to  begin  with  her  aunt,  sprang  up 
from  her  place,  but  at  the  same  time  dropped  the  knife  and 
the  spoons  under  the  table,  and  then  dived  down  after  them 
herself. 

The  plump  little  lady  could  restrain  her  laughter  no 
longer;  and  she  had  a  wonderful  laugh,  for  first  she  began 
to  shake  and  tremble,  and  then  to  squeak  in  a  thin  voice. 
All  had  grown  joyous.  Zagloba  was  in  raptures.  "  You 
see  what  a  time  I  have  with  this  maiden,"  said  Pani 
Makovetski. 

"  She  is  a  pure  delight,  as  God  is  dear  to  me  !  "  exclaimed 
Zagloba. 

Meanwhile  Basia  had  crept  out  from  under  the  table ; 
she  had  found 'the  spoons  and  the  knife,  but  had  lost  her 
net,  for  her  hair  was  falling  into  her  eyes  altogether.  She 
straightened  herself,  and  said,  her  nostrils  quivering  mean- 
while, "Aha,  lords  and  ladies,  you  are  laughing  at  my 
confusion.  Very  well !  " 

"No  one  is  laughing,"  said  Zagloba,  in  a  tone  of  con- 
viction, "  no  one  is  laughing,  —  no  one  is  laughing  !  We 
are  only  rejoicing  that  the  Lord  God  has  given  us  delight 
in  the  person  of  your  ladyship." 

After  supper  they  passed  into  the  drawing-room.  There 
Panna  Krysia,  seeing  a  lute  on  the  wall,  took  it  down  and 
began  to  run  over  the  strings.  Pan  Michael  begged  her  to 
sing. 

"  I  am  ready,  if  I  can  drive  sadness  from  your  soul." 

"I  thank  you,"  answered  the  little  knight,  raising  his 
eyes  to  her  in  gratitude. 

After  a  while  this  song  was  heard :  — 

"  O  knights,  believe  me, 
Useless  is  armor ; 
Shields  give  no  service ; 
Cupid's  keen  arrows, 
Through  steel  and  iron, 
Go  to  all  hearts." 

"I  do  not  indeed  know  how  to  thank  you,"  said  Zagloba. 
sitting  at  a  distance  with  Pan  Michael's'  sister,  and  kissing 
her  hands,  "for  coming  yourself  and  bringing  with  you 
such  elegant  maidens  that  the  Graces  themselves  might 
heat  stoves  for  them.  Especially  does  that  little  haid-uk 
please  my^  heart,  for  such  a  rogue  drives  away  sorrow  in 
such  fashion  that  a  weasel  could  not  hunt  mice  better. 
In  truth,  what  is  grief  unless  mice  gnawing  the  grains 


PAN  MICHAEL.  47 

of  joyousness  placed  in  our  hearts  ?  You,  my  benefactress, 
should  know  that  our  late  king,  Ya-n  Kazimir,  was  so  fond 
of  my  comparisons  that  he  could  not  live  a  day  without 
them.  I  had  to  arrange  for  him  proverbs  and  wise  maxims. 
He  used  to  have  these  repeated  to  him  before  bed-time,  and 
by  them  it  was  that  he  directed  his  policy.  But  that  is 
another  matter.  I  hope  too  that  our  Michael,  in  company 
with  these  delightful  girls,  will  forget  altogether  his  un- 
happy misfortune.  You  do  not  know  that  it  is  only  a  week 
since  I  dragged  him  out  of  the  cloister,  where  he  wished  to 
make  vows  ;  but  I  won  the  intervention  of  the  nuncio  him- 
self, who  declared  to  the  prior  that  he  would  make  a 
dragoon  of  every  monk  in  the  cloister  if  he  did  not  let 
Michael  out  straightway.  There  was  no  reason  for  him 
to  be  there.  Praise  be  to  God !  Praise  be  to  God !  If 
not  to-day,  to-morrow  some  one  of  those  two  will  strike 
such  sparks  out  of  him  that  his  heart  will  be  burning  like 
punk." 

Meanwhile  Krysia  sang  on  :  — 

"  If  shields  cannot  save 
From  darts  a  strong  hero, 
How  can  a  fair  head 
Guard  her  own  weakness  ? 
Where  can  she  hide  ?  " 

"  The  fair  heads  have  as  much  fear  of  those  shafts  as  a 
dog  has  of  meat,"  whispered  Zagloba  to  Pan  Michael's 
sister.  "But  confess,  my  benefactress,  that  you  did  not 
bring  these  titmice  here  without  secret  designs.  They  are 
maidens  in  a  hundred  !  —  especially  that  little  haiduk. 
Would  that  I  were  as  blooming  as  she !  Ah,  Michael  has 
a  cunning  sister." 

Pani  Makovetski  put  on  a  very  artful  look,  which  did 
not,  however,  become  her  honest,  simple  face  in  the  least, 
and  said,  "  I  thought  of  this  and  that,  as  is  usual  with  us  ; 
shrewdness  is  not  wanting  to  women.  My  husband  had  to 
come  here  to  the  election ;  and  I  brought  the  maidens 
beforehand,  for  with  us  there  is  no  one  to  gee  unless 
Tartars.  If  anything  lucky  should  happen  to  Michael 
from  this,  1  would  make  a  pilgrimage  on  foot  to  some 
wonder-working  image." 

"  It  will  come  ;  it  will  come  !  "  said  Zagloba. 

"Both  maidens  are  from  great  houses,  and  both  have 
property;  that,  too.  means  something  in  these  grievous 
times." 


48  TAN   MICHAEL. 

"  There  is  no  need  to  repeat  that  to  me.  The  war  has  con- 
sumed Michael's  fortune,  though  I  know  that  he  has  some 
money  laid  up  with  great  lords.  We  took  famous  booty 
more  than  once,  gracious  lady  ;  and  though  that  was  placed 
at  the  hetnian's  discretion,  still,  a  part  went  to  be  divided 
'according  to  sabres,'  as  the  saying  is  in  our  soldier 
speech.  So  much  came  to  Michael's  share  more  than  once 
that  if  he  had  saved  all  his  own,  he  would  have  to-day  a 
nice  fortune.  But  a  soldier  has  no  thought  for  to-morrow  ; 
lie  only  frolics  to-day.  And  Michael  would  have  frolicked 
away  all  he  had,  were  it  not  that  I  restrained  him  on  every 
occasion.  You  say,  then,  gracioiis  lady,  that  these  maidens 
are  of  high  blood  ?  " 

"  Krysia  is  of  senatorial  blood.  It  is  true  that  our  cas- 
tellans on  the  border  are  not  castellans  of  Cracow,  and 
there  are  some  of  whom  few  in  the  Commonwealth  have 
heard ;  but  still,  whoso  has  sat  once  in  a  senator's  chair 
bequeaths  to  posterity  his  splendor.  As  to  relationship, 
Basia  almost  surpasses  Krysia." 

"  Indeed,  indeed !  I  myself  am  descended  from  a  certain 
king  of  the  Massagetes,  therefore  I  like  to  hear  genealogies." 

"  Basia  does  not  co,me  from  such  a  lofty  nest  as  that ; 
but  if  you  wish  to  listen,  — for  in  our  parts  we  can  recount 
the  relationship  of  every  house  on  our  fingers,  —  she  is,  in 
fact,  related  to  the  Pototskis  and  the  Yazlovyetskis  and  the 
Lashches.  You  see,  it  was  this  way."  Here  Pan  Michael's 
sister  gathered  in  the  folds  of  her  dress  and  took  a  more 
convenient  position,  so  that  there  might  be  no  hindrance 
to  any  part  of  her  favorite  narrative ;  she  spread  out  the 
fingers  of  one  hand,  and  straightening  the  index  finger  of 
the  other,  made  ready  to  enumerate  the  grandfathers  and 
grandmothers.  "  The  daughter  of  Pan  Yakob  Pototski, 
Elizabeth,  from  his  second  wife,  a  Yazlovyetski,  married 
Pan  Yan  Smyotanko,  banneret  of  Podolia." 

"  I  have  caulked  that  into  my  memory,"  said  Zagloba.  . 

"  From  that  marriage  was  born  Michael  Smyotanko,  also 
banneret  of  Podolia." 

"  H'm  !  a  good  office,"  said  Zagloba. 

"  He  was  married  the  first  time  to  a  Dorohosto  —  no ! 
to  a  Kojynski  —  no !  to  a  Voronich  !  God  guard  me  from 
forgetting !  " 

"  Eternal  rest  to  her,  whatever  her  name  was,"  said 
Zagloba,  with  gravity. 

"  And  for  his  second  wife  he  married  Panna  Lashch." 


PAN   MICHAEL.  49 

••  I  was  waiting  for  that !  What  was  the  result  of  the 
marriage  ?  " 

u  Their  sons  died.'' 

"  Every  joy  crumbles  in  this  world." 

"But  of  four  daughters,  the  youngest,  Anna,  married 
Yezorkovski,  of  the  shield  Ravich,  a  commissioner  for 
fixing  the  boundaries  of  Podolia;  he  was  afterward,  if  I 
mistake  not,  sword-bearer  of  Podolia." 

"  He  was,  I  remember  ! "  said  Zagloba,  with  complete 
certainty. 

"  From  that  marriage,  you  see,  was  born  Basia." 

"  I  see,  and  also  that  at  this  moment  she  is  aiming 
Ketling's  musket."  In  fact,  Krysia  and  the  little  knight 
were  occupied  in  conversation,  and  Basia  was  aiming  the 
musket  at  the  window  for  her  own  amusement. 

Pa-ni  Makovetski  began  to.  shake  and  squeak  at  sight  of 
that.  <;  You  cannot  imagine  what  I  pass  through  with  that 
girl !  She  is  a  regular  haydamak." 

"  If  all  the  haydamaks  were  like  her,  I  would  join  them 
at  once." 

"  There  is  nothing  in  her  head  but  arms,  horses,  and  war. 
Once  she  broke  out  of  the  house  to  hunt  ducks  with  a  gun. 
She  crept  in  somewhere  among  the  rushes,  was  looking 
ahead  of  her ,  the  reeds  began  to  open  —  what  did  she  see  ? 
The  head  of  a  Tartar  stealing  along  through  the  reeds  to 
the  village.  Another  woman  would  have  been  terrified,  and 
woe  to  her  if  she  had  not  fired  quickly  ;  the  Tartar  dropped 
into  the  water.  Just  imagine,  she  laid  him  out  on  the  spot ; 
and  witli  what?  With  duck-shot." 

Here  the  lady  began  to  shake  again  and  laugh  at  the 
mishap  of  the  Tartar ;  then  she  added,  "  And  to  tell  the 
truth,  she  saved  us  all,  for  a  whole  ehambul  was  advanc- 
ing ;  but  as  she  came  and  gave  the  alarm,  we  had  time  to 
escape  to  the  woods  with  the  servants.  With  us  it  is 
always  so  ! " 

Zagloba' s  face  was  covered  with  such  delight  that  he  half 
closed  his  eye  for  a  moment;  then  he  sprang  up,  hurried  to 
the  maiden,  and  before  she  saw  him,  he  kissed  her  on  the 
forehead.  "  This  from  an  old  soldier  for  that  Tartar  in  the 
rushes,"  said  he. 

The  maiden  gave  a  sweeping  shake  to  her  yellow  fore- 
lock. "Did  n't  I  give  him  beans  '.'  "  cried  she,  with  her  fresh, 
childish  voice,  which  sounded  so  strangely  in  view  of  what 
she  meant  with  her  words. 


50  PAN  MICHAEL. 

"  Oh,  rny  darling  little  haydamak !  "  cried  Zagloba,  with 
emotion. 

"  But  what  is  one  Tartar  ?  You  gentlemen  have  cut 
them  down  by  the  thousand,  and  Swedes,  and  Germans, 
and  Eakotsi's  Hungarians.  What  am  I  before  you,  gen- 
tlemen, —  before  knights  who  have  not  their  equals  in  the 
Commonwealth  ?  I  know  that  perfectly  !  Oho  !  " 

"  I  will  teach  you  to  work  with  the  sabre,  since  you  have 
so  much  courage.  I  am  rather  heavy  now,  but  Michael 
there,  he  too  is  a  master." 

The  maiden  sprang  up  in  the  air  at  such  a  proposal ;  then 
she  kissed  Zagloba  on  the  shoulder  and  courtesied  to  the 
little  knight,  saying,  "I  give  thanks  for  the  promise.  I 
know  a  little  already." 

But  Pan  Michael  was  wholly  occupied  talking  with 
Krysia ;  therefore  he  answered  inattentively,  "  Whatever 
you  command." 

Zagloba,  with  radiant  face,  sat  down  again  near  Pani 
Makovetski.  "  My  gracious  benefactress,"  said  he,  "  I 
know  well  which  Turkish  sweetmeats  are  best,  for  I 
passed  long  years  in  Stambul ;  but  I  know  this  too,  that 
there  is  just  a  world  of  people  hungry  for  them.  How 
has  it  happened  that  no  man  has  coveted  that-  maiden  to 
this  time  ?  " 

"  As  God  lives,  there  was  no  lack  of  men  who  were  court- 
ing them  both.  But  Basia  we  call,  in  laughing,  a  widow  of 
three  husbands,  for  at  one  time  three  worthy  cavaliers  paid 
her  addresses,  —  all  nobles  of  our  parts,  and  heirs,  whose 
relationship  I  can  explain  in  detail  to  you." 

Saying  this,  Paui  Makovetski  spread  out  the  fingers  of 
her  left  hand  and  straightened  her  right  index  finger ;  but 
Zagloba  inquired  quickly,  "  And  what  happened  to  them  ?  " 

"  All  three  died  in  war ;  therefore  we  call  Basia  a  widow." 

"  H'm !  but  how  did  she  endure  the  loss  ?  " 

"  With  us,  you  see,  a  case  like  that  happens  every  day ; 
and  it  is  a  rare  thing  for  any  man,  after  reaching  ripe  age, 
to  pass  away  with  his  own  death.  Among  us  people  even 
say  that  it  is  not  befitting  a  nobleman  to  die  otherwise  than 
in  the  field.  '  How  did  Basia  endure  it  ? '  Oh,  she  whim- 
pered a  little,  poor  girl,  but  mostly  in  the  stable ;  for  when 
anything  troubles  her,  she  is  off  to  the  stable.  I  sent  for 
her  once  and  inquired,  '  For  whom  are  you  crying  ? '  '  For 
all  three,'  said  she.  I  saw  from  the  answer  that  no  one 
of  them  pleased  her  specially.  I  think  that  as  her  head  is 


PAN   MICHAEL.  51 

stuffed  with  something  else,  she  has  not  felt  the  will  of  God 
yet;  Krysia  has  felt  it  somewhat,  but  Basia  perhaps  not 
at  all."' 

"  She  will  feel  it !  "  said  Zagloba.  "  Gracious  bene- 
factress, we  understand  that  perfectly.  She  will  feel  it! 
she  will  feel  it!" 

"  Such  is  our  predestination,"  said  Pani  Makovetski. 

"That  is  just  it.     You  took  the  words  out  of  my  mouth.'' 

Further  conversation  was  interrupted  by  the  approach  of 
the  younger  society.  The  little  knight  had  grown  much 
emboldened  with  Krysia ;  and  she,  through  evident  good- 
ness of  heart,  was  occupied  with  him  and  his  grief,  like  a 
physician  with  a  patient.  And  perhaps  for  this  very  reason 
she  showed  him  more  kindness  than  their  brief  acquaintance 
permitted.  But  as  Pan  Michael  was  a  brother  of  the 
stoluik's  wife,  and  the  young  lady  was  related  to  the  stolnik, 
no  one  was  astonished.  Basia  remained,  as  it  were,  aside  ; 
and  only  Pan  Zagloba  turned  to  her  unbroken  attention. 
But  however  that  might  be,  it  was  apparently  all  one  to 
Basia  whether  some  one  was  occupied  with  her  or  not.  At 
first,  she  gazed  with  admiration  on  both  knights  ;  but  with 
equal  admiration  did  she  examine  Ketling's  wonderful 
weapons  distributed  on  the  walls.  Later  she  began  to 
yawn  somewhat ;  then  her  eyes  grew  heavier  and  heavier, 
and  at  last  she  said,  — 

"  I  am  so  sleepy  that  I  may  wake  in  the  morning." 

After  these  words  the  company  separated  at  once ;  for 
the  ladies  were  very  weary  from  the  journey,  and  were 
only  waiting  to  have  beds  prepared.  When  Zagloba  found 
himself  at  last  alone  with  Pan  Michael,  he  began  first  of 
all  to  wink  significantly,  then  he  covered  the  little  knight 
with  a  shower  of  light  fists.  "  Michael !  what,  Michael, 
hei  ?  like  turnips  !  Will  you  become  a  monk,  what  ?  That 
bilberry  Krysia  is  a  sweet  one.  And  that  rosy  little  haiduk, 
uh  !  What  will  you  say  of  her,  Michael  ?  " 

"  What  ?    Nothing ! "  answered  the  little  knight. 

"That  little  haiduk  pleased  me  principally.  I  tell  you 
that  when  I  sat  near  her  during  supper  I  was  as  warm  from 
her  as  from  a  stove." 

"  She  is  a  kid  yet ;  the  other  is  ever  so  much  more 
stately." 

"  Panna  Krysia  is  a  real  Hungarian  plum ;  but  this  one 
is  a  little  nut !  As  God  lives,  if  I  had  teeth  !  I  wanted  to 
say  if  I  had  such  a  daughter,  I  'd  give  her  to  no  man  but 
you.  An  almond,  I  say,  an  al  mond ! " 


52  £AN  MICHAEL. 

Volodyovski  grew  sad  on  a  sudden,  for  he  remembered 
the  nicknames  which  Zagloba  used  to  give  Anusia.  She 
stood  as  if  living  before  him  there  in  his  mind  and  memory, 
—  her  form,  her  small  face,  her  dark  tresses,  her  joyfulness, 
her  chattering,  and  ways  of  looking.  Both  these  were 
younger,  but  still  she  was  a  hundred  times  dearer  than  all 
who  were  younger. 

The  little  knight  covered  his  face  with  his  palms,  and 
sorrow  carried  him  away  the  more  because  it  was  unex- 
pected. Zagloba  was  astonished;  for  some  time  he  was 
silent  and  looked  unquietly,  then  he  asked,  "  Michael,  what 
is  the  matter  ?  Speak,  for  God's  sake  !  " 

Volodyovski  spoke,  "  So  many  are  living,  so  many  are 
walking  through  the  world,  but  my  lamb  is  no  longer 
among  them;  never  again  shall  I  see  her."  Then  pain 
stifled  his  voice ;  he  rested  his  forehead  on  the  arm  of  the 
sofa  and  began  to  whisper  through  his  set  lips,  "  0  God  1 
0  God!  OGod!" 


1>AN  MICHAEL.  53 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

BASIA  insisted  that  Volodyovski  should  give  her  instruc- 
tion in  "  fencing ;  "  he  did  not  refuse,  though  he  delayed  for 
some  days.  He  preferred  Krysia;  still,  he  liked  Basia 
greatly,  so  difficult  was  it,  in  fact,  not  to  like  her. 

A  certain  morning  the  first  lesson  began,  mainly  because 
of  Basia's  boasting  and  her  assurances  that  she  knew  that 
art  by  no  means  badly,  and  that  no  common  person  could 
stand  before  her.  "  An  old  soldier  taught  me,"  said  she  ; 
"  there  is  no  lack  of  these  among  us ;  it  is  known  too  that 
there  are  no  swordsmen  superior  to  ours.  It  is  a  question 
if  even  you,  gentlemen,  would  not  find  your  equals." 

"  Of  what  are  you  talking  ?  "  asked  Zagloba.  "  We  have 
no  equals  in  the  whole  world." 

"  I  should  wish  it  to  come  out  that  even  I  am  your  equal. 
I  do  not  expect  it,  but  I  should  like  it." 

"If  it  were  firing  from  pistols,  I  too  would  make  a  trial," 
said  Pani  Makovetski,  laughing. 

"As  God  lives,  it  must  be  that  the  Amazons  themselves 
dwell  in  Latychov,"  said  Zagloba.  Here  he  turned  to 
Krysia :  "  And  what  weapon  do  you  use  best,  your 
ladyship  ?  " 

"  None,"  answered  Krysia. 

"  Ah,  ha  !  none  !  "  exclaimed  Basia.  And  here,  mimicking 
Krysia's  voice,  she  began  to  sing:  — 

" '  O  knights,  believe  me, 
Useless  is  armor, 
Shields  give  no  service  ; 
Cupid's  keen  arrows, 
Through  steel  and  iron, 
Go  to  all  hearts.' 

"  She  wields  arms  of  that  kind ;  never  fear,"  added  Basia, 
turning  to  Pan  Michael  and  Zagloba.  "  In  that  she  is  a 
warrior  of  no  common  skill." 

"Take  your  place,  young  lady !  "  said  Pan  Michael,  wish- 
ing to  conceal  a  slight  confusion. 

"Oh,  as  God  lives  !  if  what  I  think  should  come  true!" 
cried  Basia,  blushing  with  delight. 


54  PAN  MICHAEL. 

And  she  stood  at  once  in  position  with  a  light  Polish 
sabre  in  her  right  hand  ;  the  left  she  put  behind  her,  and 
with  breast  pushed  forward,  with  raised  head  and  dilated 
nostrils,  she  was  so  pretty  and  so  rosy  that  Zagloba 
whispered  to  Pan  Michael's  sister,  "No  decanter,  even 
if  filled  with  Hungarian  a  hundred  years  old,  would  delight 
me  so  much  with  the  sight  of  it." 

"  Remember,"  said  the  little  knight  to  Basia,  "  that  I  will 
only  defend  myself;  I  will  not  thrust  once.  You  may 
attack  as  quickly  as  you  choose." 

"Very  well.     If  you  wish  me  to  stop,  give  the  word." 

"  The  fencing  could  be  stopped  without  a  word,  if  I 
wished." 

"  And  how  could  that  be  done  ?  " 

"I  could  take  the  sabre  easily  out  of  the  hand  of  a 
fencer  like  you." 

"We  shall  see!" 

"  We  shall  not,  for  I  will  not  do  so,  through  politeness." 

"There  is  no  need  of  politeness  in  this  case.  Do  it  if 
you  can.  I  know  that  I  have  less  skill  than  you,  but  still  I 
will  not  let  that  be  done." 

"  Then  you  permit  it  ?  " 

"  I  permit  it." 

"  Oh,  do  not  permit,  sweetest  haiduk,"  said  Zagloba. 
"He  has  disarmed  the  greatest  masters." 

"  We  shall  see  !  "  repeated  Basia. 

"  Let  us  begin,"  said  Pan  Michael,  made  somewhat  impa- 
tient by  the  boasting  of  the  maiden. 

They  began.  Basia  thrust  terribly,  skipping  around  like 
a  pony  in  a  field.  Volodyovski  stood  in  one  place,  making, 
according  to  his  wont,  the  slightest  movements  of  the  sabre, 
paying  but  little  respect  to  the  attack. 

"  You  brush  me  off  like  a  troublesome  fly ! "  cried  the 
irritated  Basia. 

"  I  am  not  making  a  trial  of  you ;  I  am  teaching  you," 
answered  the  little  knight.  "That  is  good!  For  a  fair 
head,  not  bad  at  all !  Steadier  with  the  hand  !  " 

"  '  For  a  fair  head  ? '  You  call  me  a  fair  head  !  you  do  ! 
you  do ! " 

But  Pan  Michael,  though  Basia  used  her  most  celebrated 
thrusts,  was  untouched.  Even  he  began  to  talk  with  Zagloba, 
of  purpose  to  show  how  little  he  cared  for  Basia's  thrusts  : 
"  Step  away  from  the  window,  for  you  are  in  the  lady's 
light ;  and  though  a  sabre  is  larger  than  a  needle,  she  has 
less  experience  with  the  sabre." 


PAN  MICHAEL.  55 

Basia's  nostrils  dilated  still  more,  and  her  forelock  fell  to 
her  flashing  eyes.  "Do  yon  hold  me  in  contempt?" 
inquired  she,  panting  quickly. 

"  Not  your  person  ;  God  save  me  from  that !  " 

"  I  cannot  endure  Van  Michael ! " 

"  You  learned  fencing  from  a  schoolmaster."  Again  he 
turned  to  Zagloba :  "  I  think  snow  is  beginning  to  fall." 

"  Here  is  snow  !  snow  for  you  !  "  repeated  Basia,  giving 
thrust  after  thrust. 

••  I'.asia,  that  is  enough!  you  are  barely  breathing,"  said 
Pani  Makoveteki 

••  Now  hold  to  your  sabre,  for  I  will  strike  it  from  your 
hand." 

"  We  shall  see  !  " 

"  Here  ! "  And  the  little  sabre,  hopping  like  a  bird  out 
of  Basia's  hands,  fell  with  a  rattle  near  the  stove. 

"  I  let  it  go  myself  without  thinking !  It  was  not  you 
who  did  that!"  cried  the  young  lady,  with  tears  in  her 
voice  ;  and  seizing  the  sabre,  in  a  twinkle  she  thrust  again  : 
"  Try  it  now." 

"There!"  said  Pan  Michael.  And  again  the  sabre  was 
at  the  stove.  "  That  is  enough  for  to-day,"  said  the  little 
knight. 

Pani  Makovetski  began  to  bustle  about  and  talk  louder 
than  usual ;  but  Basia  stood  in  the  middle  of  the  room, 
confused,  stunned,  breathing  heavily,  biting  her  lips  and 
repressing  the  tears  which  were  crowding  into  her  eyes  in 
spite  of  her.  She  knew  that  they  would  laugh  all  the  more 
if  she  burst  out  crying,  and  she  wished  absolutely  to  restrain 
herself ;  but  seeing  that  she  could  not,  she  rushed  from  the 
room  on  a  sudden. 

"  For  God's  sake  ! "  cried  Pani  Makovetski.  "  She  has 
run  to  the  stable,  of  course,  and  being  so  heated,  will  catch 
cold.  Some  one  must  go  for  her.  Krysia,  don't  you  go  !  " 

So  saying,  she  went  out,  and  seizing  a  warm  shuba  in 
the  ante-room,  hurried  to  the  stable ;  and  after  her  ran 
Zagloba,  troubled  about  his  little  haiduk.  Krysia  wished 
to  go  also,  but  the  little  knight  held  her  by  the  hand.  "  You 
heard  the  prohibition.  I  will  not  let  this  hand  go  till  they 
come  back." 

And,  in  fact,  he  did  not  let  it  go.  But  that  hand  was  as 
soft  as  satin.  It  seemed  to  Pan  Michael  that  a  kind  of  warm 
current  was  flowing  from  those  slender  fingers  into  his 
bones,  rousing  in  them  an  uncommon  pleasantness;  there- 


56  PAN   MICHAEL. 

fore  he  held  them  more  firmly.  A  slight  blush  flew  over 
Krysia's  face.  "  I  see  that  I  am  a  prisoner  taken  captive." 

"  Whoever  should  take  such  a  prisoner  would  not  have 
reason  to  envy  the  Sultan,  for  the  Sultan  would  gladly  give 
half  his  kingdom  for  her." 

"But  you  would  not  sell  me  to  the  Pagans  ? " 

"  Just  as  I  would  not  sell  my  soul  to  the  Devil." 

Here  Pan  Michael  remarked  that  momentary  enthusiasm 
had  carried  him  too  far,  and  he  corrected  himself :  "  As  I 
would  not  sell  my  sister." 

"  That  is  the  right  word,"  said  Krysia,  seriously.  "  I  am 
a  sister  in  affection  to  your  sister,  and  I  will  be  the  same  to 
you." 

"  I  thank  you  from  my  heart !  "  said  Pan  Michael,  kissing 
her  hand ;  "  for  I  have  great  need  of  consolation." 

"  I  know,  I  know,"  repeated  the  young  lady ;  "  I  am  an 
orphan  myself."  Here  a  small  tear  rolled  down  from  her 
eyelid  and  stopped  at  the  down  on  her  lip. 

Pan  Michael  looked  on  that  tear,  on  the  mouth  slightly 
shaded,  and  said,  "  You  are  as  kind  as  a  real  angel ;  I  feel 
comforted  already." 

Krysia  smiled  sweetly  :  "  May  God  reward  you ! " 

"  As  God  is  dear  to  me." 

The  little  knight  felt  meanwhile  that  if  he  should  kiss 
her  hand  a  second  time,  it  would  comfort  him  still  more ; 
but  at  that  moment  his  sister  appeared.  "  Basia  took  the 
shuba,"  said  she,  "  but  is  in  such  confusion  that  she  will  not 
come  in  for  anything.  Pan  Zagloba  is  chasing  her  through 
the  whole  stable." 

In  fact,  Zagloba,  sparing  neither  jests  nor  persuasion,  not 
only  followed  Basia  through  the  stable,  but  drove  her  at  last 
to  the  yard,  in  hopes  that  he  would  persuade  her  to  the 
warm  house.  She  ran  before  him,  repeating,  "  I  will  not  go  ! 
Let  the  cold  catch  me  !  I  will  not  go  !  I  will  not  go  !  " 

Seeing  at  last  a  pillar  before  the  house  with  pegs,  and  on 
it  a  ladder,  she  sprang  up  the  ladder  like  a  squirrel,  stopped, 
and  leaned  at  last  on  the  eave  of  the  roof.  Sitting  there, 
she  turned  to  Pan  Zagloba  and  cried  out  half  in  laughter. 
"  Well,  I  will  go  if  you  climb  up  here  after  me." 

"  What  sort  of  a  cat  am  I,  little  haiduk,  to  creep  along 
roofs  after  you  ?  Is  that  the  way  you  pay  me  for  loving 
you  ?  " 

"  I  love  you  too,  but  from  the  roof." 

"  Grandfather  wants  his  way ;  grandmother  will  have 
hers.  Come  down  to  me  this  minute  ! " 


PAN   MICHAEL.  67 

"I  will  not  go  down  !  " 

"  Jt  is  laughable,  as  God  is  dear  to  me,  to  take  defeat  to 
heart  as  you  do.  Not  you  alone,  angry  weasel,  but  Krnita, 
who  passed  for  a  master  of  masters,  did  Pan  Michael  treat 
in  this  way,  and  not  in  sport,  but  in  a  duel.  The  most 
famous  swordsmen  —  Italians,  Germans,  and  Swedes  — 
could  not  stand  before  him  longer  than  during  one  '  Our 
Father/  and  here  such  a  gadfly  takes  the  affair  to  heart. 
Fie  !  be  ashamed  of  yourself !  Come  down,  come  down  J 
Besides,  you  are  only  beginning  to  learn." 

i(  But  1  cannot  endure  Pan  Michael ! " 

"  God  be  good  to  you  !  Is  it  because  he  is  exquisitissimus 
in  that  which  you  yourself  wish  to  know  ?  You  should  love 
him  all  the  more." 

Zagloba  was  not  mistaken.  The  admiration  of  Basia  for 
the  little  knight  increased  in  spite  of  her  defeat;  but  she 
answered,  "  Let  Krysia  love  him." 

"  Come  down  !  come  down  1  " 

"  I  will  not  come  down." 

"  Very  well,  stay  there  ;  but  I  will  tell  you  one  thing :  it 
is  not  nice  for  a  young  lady  to  sit  on  a  ladder,  for  she  may 
give  an  amusing  exhibition  to  the  world." 

"  But  that's  not  true,"  answered  Basia,  gathering  in  her 
skirts  with  her  hand. 

"  I  am  an  old  fellow,  —  I  won't  look  my  eyes  out ;  but 
I  '11  call  everybody  this  minute,  let  others  stare  at  you." 

"  I  '11  come  down  !  "  cried  Basia. 

With  that,  Zagloba  turned  toward  the  side  of  the  house. 
"  As  God  lives,  somebody  is  coming  !  "  said  he. 

In  fact,  from  behind  the  corner  appeared  young  Adam 
Novoveski,  who,  coming  on  horseback,  had  tied  his  beast  at 
the  side-gate  and  passed  around  the  house  himself,  wishing 
to  enter  through  the  main  door.  Basia,  seeing  him,  was  on 
the  ground  in  two  springs,  but  too  late.  Unfortunately 
Pan  Adam  had  seen  her  springing  from  the  ladder,  and 
stood  confused,  astonished,  and  covered  with  blushes  like  a 
young  girl.  Basia  stood  before  him  in  the  same  way,  till  at 
last  she  cried  out,  — 

"  A  second  confusion  !  " 

Zagloba,  greatly  amused,  blinked  some  time  with  his 
sound  eye;  at  length  ho  said,  "Pan  Novoveski,  a  friend 
and  subordinate  of  our  Michael,  and  this  is  Panna  Drabi- 
novski  (Ladder).  Tfu !  I  wanted  to  say  Yezorkoyski." 

Pan  Adam  recovered  readily ;  and  because  lie  was  a  sol- 


58  PAN  MICHAEL. 

dier  of  quick  wit,  though  young,  he  bowed,  and  raising  his 
eyes  to  the  wonderful  vision,  said,  "As  God  lives  !  roses 
bloom  on  the  snow  in  Ketl ing's  garden." 

But  Basia,  courtesying,  muttered  to  herself,  "  For  some 
other  nose  than  yours."  Then  she  said  very  charmingly, 
"  I  beg  you  to  come  in." 

She  went  forward  herself,  and  rushing  into  the  room 
where  Pan  Michael  was  sitting  with  the  rest  of  the  com- 
pany, cried,  making  reference  to  the  red  kontush  of  Pan 
Adam,  "  The  red  finch  has  come  ! "  Then  she  sat  at  the 
table,  put  one  hand  into  the  other,  and  pursed  her  mouth  in 
the  style  of  a  demure  and  strictly  reared  young  lady. 

Pan  Michael  presented  his  young  friend  to  his  sister  and 
Panna  Krysia;  and  the  friend,  seeing  another  young  lady 
of  equal  beauty,  but  of  a  different  order,  was  confused  a 
second  time  ;  he  covered  his  confusion,  however,  with  a  bow, 
and  to  add  to  his  courage  reached  his  hand  to  his  mustache, 
which  had  not  grown  much  yet.  Twisting  his  fingers  above 
his  lip,  he  turned  to  Pan  Michael  and  told  him  the  object 
of  his  coming.  The  grand  hetman  wished  anxiously  to  see 
the  little  knight.  As  far  as  Pan  Adam  could  conjecture,  it 
was  a  question  of  some  military  function,  for  the  hetman 
had  received  letters  recently  from  Pan  Vilchkovski,  from 
Pan  Silnitski,  from  Colonel  Pivo,  and  other  commandants 
stationed  in  the  Ukraine  and  Podolia,  with  reports  of  Cri- 
mean events  which  were  not  of  favorable  promise. 

"  The  Khan  himself  and  Sultan  Galga,  who  made  treaties 
with  us  at  Podhaytse,"  continued  Pan  Adam,  "  wish  to  ob- 
serve the  treaties ;  but  Budjyak  is  as  noisy  as  a  bee-hive  at 
time  of  swarming.  The  Belgrod  horde  also  are  in  an  uproar ; 
they  do  not  wish  to  obey  either  the  Khan  or  Galga." 

"  Pan  Sobieski  has  informed  me  already  of  that,  and 
asked  for  advice,"  said  Zagloba.  "  What  do  they  say  now 
about  the  coming  spring  ?  " 

"  They  say  that  with  the  first  grass  there  will  be  surely 
a  movement  of  those  worms  ;  that  it  will  be  necessary  to 
stamp  them  out  a  second  time,"  replied  Pan  Adam,  assum- 
ing the  face  of  a  terrible  Mars,  and  twisting  his  mustache 
till  his  upper  lip  reddened. 

Basia,  who  was  quick-eyed,  saw  this  at  once  ;  therefore 
she  pushed  back  a  little,  so  that  Pan  Adam  might  not  see 
her,  and  then  twisted,  as  it  were,  her  mustache,  imitating 
the  youthful  cavalier.  Pan  Michael's  sister  threatened  with 
her  eyes,  but  at  the  same  time  she  began  to  quiver,  restrain- 


PAN   MICHAEL.  59 

ing  her  laughter  with  difficulty.  Volodyovski  bit  his  lips  ; 
and  Krysia  dropped  her  eyes  till  the  long  lashes  threw  a 
shadow  on  her  cheeks. 

"  X°u  are  a  young  man,"  said  Zagloba,  "  but  a  soldier  of 
experience." 

"  I  am  twenty-two  years  old,  and  I  have  served  the  coun- 
try seven  years  without  ceasing ;  for  I  escaped  to  the  field 
from  the  lowest  bench  in  my  fifteenth  year,"  answered  the 
young  man. 

"  He  knows  the  steppe,  knows  how  to  make  his  way 
through  the  grass,  and  to  fall  on  the  horde  as  a  kite  falls 
on  grouse,"  said  Pan  Michael.  "  He  is  no  common  par- 
tisan I  The  Tartar  will  not  hide  from  him  in  the  steppe." 

Pan  Adam  blushed  with  delight  that  praise  from  such 
famous  lips  met  him  in  presence  of  ladies.  He  was  withal 
not  merely  a  falcon  of  the  steppes,  but  a  handsome  fellow, 
dark,  embrowned  by  the  "winds.  On  his  face  he  bore  a  scar 
from  his  ear  to  his  nose,  which  from  this  cut  was  thinner 
on  one  side  than  the  other.  He  had  quick  eyes,  accustomed 
to  look  into  the  distance,  above  them  very  dark  brows, 
joined  at  the  nose  and  forming,  as  it  were,  a  Tartar  bow. 
His  head,  shaven  at  the  sides,  was  surmounted  by  a  black, 
bushy  forelock.  He  pleased  Basia  both  in  speech  and  in 
bearing ;  but  still  she  did  not  cease  to  mimic  him. 

"  As  I  live  !  "  said  Zagloba,  "  it  is  pleasant  for  old  men 
like  me  to  see  that  a  new  generation  is  rising  up  worthy 
of  us." 

"  Not  worthy  yet,"  answered  Pan  Adam. 

"  I  praise  the  modesty  too.  We  shall  see  you  soon  re- 
ceiving commands." 

"That  has  happened  already  !  "  cried  Pan  Michael.  "  He 
has  been  commandant,  and  gained  victories  by  himself." 

Pan  Adam  began  so  to  twist  his  mustache  that  he  lacked 
little  of  pulling  out  his  lip.  And  Basia,  without  taking 
her  eyes  from  him,  raised  both  hands  also  to  her  face,  and 
mimicked  him  in  everything.  But  the  clever  soldier  saw 
quickly  that  the  glances  of  the  whole  company  were  turn- 
ing to  one  side,  where,  somewhat  behind  him,  was  sitting 
the  young  lady  whom  he  had  seen  on  the  ladder,  and  he 
divined  at  once  that  something  must  be  against  him. 
He  spoke  on,  as  if  paying  no  heed  to  the  matter,  and 
sought  his  mustache  as  before.  At  last  he  selected  the 
moment,  and  wheeled  around  so  quickly  that  Basia  had 
no  time  either  to  turn  her  eyes  from  him,  or  to  take  her 


GO  PAN  MICHAEL. 

hands  from  her  face.  She  blushed  terribly,  and  not  know 
ing  herself  what  to  do,  rose  from  the  chair.  All  were  con- 
fused, and  a  moment  of  silence  followed. 

Basia  struck  her  sides  suddenly  with  her  hands;  "A 
third  confusion !  "  cried  she,  with  her  silvery  voice. 

"  My  gracious  lady,"  said  Pan  Adam,  with  animation,  "  I 
saw  at  once  that  something  hostile  was  happening  behind 
me.  I  confess  that  I  am  anxious  for  a  mustache ;  but  if  I 
do  not  get  it,  it  will  be  because  I  shall  fall  for  the  country, 
and  in  that  event  I  hope  I  shall  deserve  tears  rather  than 
laughter  from  your  ladyship." 

Basia  stood  with  downcast  eyes,  and  was  the  more  put  to 
shame  by  the  sincere  words  of  the  cavalier. 

"  You  must  forgive  her,"  said  Zagloba.  "  She  is  wild  be- 
cause she  is  young,  but  she  has  a  golden  heart." 

And  Basia,  as  if  confirming  Zagloba's  words,  said  at  once 
in  a  low  voice,  "  I  beg  your  forgiveness  most  earnestly." 

Pan  Adam  caught  her  hands  that  moment  and  fell  to 
kissing  them.  "For  God's  sake,  do  riot  take  it  to  heart! 
I  am  not  some  kind  of  barbarian.  It  is  for  me  to  beg  pardon 
for  ha.ving  dared  to  interrupt  your  amusement.  We  soldiers 
ourselves  are  fond  of  jokes.  Mea  culpa  !  I  will  kiss  those 
hands  again,  and  if  I  have  to  kiss  them  till  you  forgive  me, 
then,  for  God's  sake,  do  not  forgive  me  till  evening  !  " 

"  Oh,  he  is  a  polite  cavalier.  You  see,  Basia  !  "  said  Pani 
Makovetski. 

"  I  see  ! "  answered  Basia. 

"  It  is  all  over  now,"  cried  Pan  Adam. 

When  he  said  this  he  straightened  himself,  and  with 
great  resolution  reached  to  his  mustache  from  habit,  but 
suddenly  remembered  himself  and  burst  out  in  hearty 
laughter.  Basia  followed  him ;  others  followed  Basia. 
Joy  seized  all.  Zagloba  gave  command  straightway  to 
bring  one  and  a  second  bottle  from  Ketling's  cellar,'  and 
all  felt  well.  Pan  Adam,  striking  one  spur  against  the 
other,  'passed  his  fingers  through  his  forelock  and  looked 
more  and  more  ardently  at  Basia.  She  pleased  him  greatly. 
He  grew  immensely  eloquent ;  and  since  he  had  served  with 
the  hetman,  he  had  lived  in  the  great  world,  therefore  had 
something  to  talk  about.  He  told  them  of  the  Diet  of  Con- 
vocation, of  its  close,  and  how  in  the  senate  the  stove  had 
tumbled  down  under  the  inquisitive  spectators,  to  the  great 
amusement  of  all.  He  departed  at  last  after  dinner,  with 
his  eyes  and  his  soul  full  of  Basia. 


PAN   MICHAEL.  61 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THAT  same  day  Pan  Michael  announced  himself  at  the 
quarters  of  the  hetman,  who  gave  command  to  admit  the 
little  knight,  and  said  to  him,  "  I  must  send  Rushchy ts  to 
the  Crimea  to  see  what  is  passing  there,  and  to  stir  up 
the  Khan  to  observe  his  treaties.  Do  you  wish  to  enter 
service  again  and  take  the  command  after  Rushchyts  ? 
You,  Vilchkovski,  Silnitski,  and  Pivo  will  have  an  eye  on 
Doroshenko,  and  on  the  Tartars,  whom  it  is  impossible  to 
trust  altogether  at  any  time." 

Pan  Michael  grew  sad.  He  had  served  the  flower  of  his 
life.  For  whole  tens  of  years  he  had  not  known  rest ;  he 
had  lived  in  fire,  in  smoke,  in  toil,  in  sleeplessness,  without 
a  roof  over  his  head,  without  a  handful  of  straw  to  lie  on. 
God  knows  what  blood  his  sabre  had  not  shed.  He  had  not 
settled  down ;  he  had  not  married.  Men  who  deserved  a 
hundred  times  less  were  eating  the  bread  of  merit ;  had 
risen  to  honors,  to  offices,  to  starostaships.  He  was  richer 
when  he  began  to  serve  than  he  was  then.  But  still  it  was 
intended  to  use  him  again,  like  an  old  broom.  His  soul  was 
rent,  because,  when  friendly  and  pleasant  hands  had  been 
found  to  dress  his  wounds,  the  command  was  given  to  tear 
himself  away  and  fly  to  the  desert,  to  the  distant  boun- 
daries of  the  Commonwealth,  without  a  thought  that  he 
was  so  greatly  wearied  in  soul.  Had  it  not  been  for  inter- 
ruptions and  service,  he  would  have  enjoyed  at  least  a 
couple  of  years  with  Anusia.  When  he  thought  of  all  this, 
an  immense  bitterness  rose  in  his  soul ;  but  since  it  did  not 
seem  to  him  worthy  of  a  cavalier  to  mention  his  own  services 
and  dwell  on  them,  he  answered  briefly,  — 

"  I  will  go." 

"  You  are  not  in  service,"  said  the  hetman ;  "  you  can 
refuse.  You  know  better  yourself  if  this  is  too  soon  for 
you." 

"  It  is  not  too  soon  for  me  to  die,"  replied  Pan  Michael. 

Sobieski  walked  a  number  of  times  through  the  chamber, 
then  he  stopped  before  the  little  knight  and  put  his  hand 
on  his  shoulder  confidentially.  "  If  your  tears  are  not  dried 


62  PAN  MICHAEL. 

yet,  the  wind  of  the  steppe  will  dry  them  for  you.  You 
have  toiled,  cherished  soldier,  all  your  life  ;  toil  on  still 
further !  And  should  it  come  ever  to  your  head  that  you 
are  forgotten,  unrewarded,  that  rest  is  not  granted  you, 
that  you  have  received  not  buttered  toast,  but  a  crust,  not 
a  starostaship,  but  wounds,  not  rest,  but  suffering  only,  set 
your  teeth  and  say,  '  For  thee,  0  Country  ! '  Other  conso- 
lation I  cannot  give,  for  I  have  n't  it ;  but  though  not  a 
priest,  I  can  give  you  the  assurance  that  serving  in  this 
way,  you  will  go  farther  on  a  worn-out  saddle  than  others 
in  a  carriage  and  six,  and  that  gates  will  be  opened  for  you 
which  will  be  closed  before  them." 

11  To  thee,  0  Country ! "  said  Pan  Michael,  in  his  soul, 
wondering  at  the  same  time  that  the  hetnian  could  pene- 
trate his  secret  thoughts  so  quickly. 

Pan  Sobieski  sat  down  in  front  of  him  and  continued: 
"I  do  not  wish  to  speak  with  you  as  with  a  subordinate, 
but  as  with  a  friend,  —  nay  !  as  a  father  with  a  son.  When 
we  were  in  the  fire  at  Podhaytse,  and  before  that  in  the 
Ukraine ;  when  we  were  barely  able  to  prevent  the  prepon- 
derance of  the  enemy,  —  here,  in  the  heart  of  the  country, 
evil  men  in  security,  behind  our  shoulders,  were  attaining 
in  turbulence  their  own  selfish  ends.  Even  in  those  days 
it'  came  more  than  once  to  my  head  that  this  Common- 
wealth must  perish.  License  lords  it  too  much  over  order  ; 
the  public  good  yields  too  often  to  private  ends.  This  has 
never  happened  elsewhere  in  such  a  degree.  These  thoughts 
were  gnawing  me  in  the  day  in  the  field,  and  in  the  night 
in  the  tent,  for  I  thought  to  myself  :  'Well,  we  soldiers  are 
in  a  woful  condition ;  but  this  is  our  duty  and  our  portion. 
If  we  could  only  know  that  with  this  blood  which  is  flow- 
ing from  our  wounds,  salvation  was  issuing  also.'  No ! 
even  that  consolation  there  was  not.  Oh,  I  passed  heavy 
days  in  Podhaytse,  though  I  showed  a  glad  face  to  you 
officers,  lest  you  might  think  that  I  had  lost  hope  of  victory 
in  the  field.  '  There  are  no  men,'  thought  I,  — '  there  are 
no  men  who  love  this  country  really.'  And  it  was  to  me 
as  if  some  one  had  planted  a  knife  in  my  breast,  till  a 
certain  time  —  the  last  day  at  Podhaytse,  when  I  sent 
you  with  two  thousand  to  the  attack  against  twenty-six 
thousand  of  the  horde,  and  you  all  flew  to  apparent  death, 
to  certain  slaughter,  with  such  a  shouting,  with  such  will- 
ingness, as  if  you  were  going  to  a  wedding  —  suddenly  the 
thought  came  to  me:  'Ah,  these  are  my  soldiers.'  And 


PAN   MICHAEL.  ($ 

God  in  one  moment  took  the  stone  from  my  heart,  and  in 
my  eyes  it  grew  clear.  '  These/  said  I,  '  are  perishing 
from  pure  love  of  the  mother ;  they  will  not  go  to  confeder- 
acies, nor  to  traitors.  Of  these  I  will  form  a  sacred  brother- 
hood; of  these  I  will  form  a  school,  in  which  the  young 
generation  will  learn.  Their  example  will  have  influence  ; 
through  them  this  ill-fated  people  will  be  reborn,  will 
become  free  of  selfishness,  forget  license,  and  be  as  a  lion 
feeling  wonderful  strength  in  his  limbs,  and  will  astonish 
the  world.  Such  a  brotherhood  will  I  form  of  my 
soldiers ! ' ' 

Here  Sobieski  flushed  up,  reared  his  head,  which  was 
like  the  head  of  a  Roman  Caesar,  and  stretching  forth  his 
hands,  exclaimed,  "  O  Lord !  inscribe  not  on  our  walls 
'  Mene,  Tekel,  Peres  ! '  and  permit  me  to  regenerate  my 
country !  " 

A  moment  of  silence  followed.  Pan  Michael  sat  with 
drooping  head  and  felt  that  trembling  had  seized  his  whole 
body. 

The  hetman  walked  some  time  with  quick  steps  through 
the  room  and  then  stopped  before  the  little  knight. 
"  Examples  are  needed,"  said  he,  —  "  examples  every  day 
to  strike  the  eye.  Volodyovski,  I  have  reckoned  you  in 
the  first  rank  of  the  brotherhood.  Do  you  wish  to  belong 
to  it  ?  " 

The  little  knight  rose  and  embraced  the  hetman's  knees. 
"  See,"  said  he,  with  a  voice  of  emotion,  "  when  I  heard 
that  I  had  to  march  again,  I  thought  that  a  wrong  had 
been  done,  and  that  leisure  for  my  suffering  belonged  to 
me ;  but  now  I  see  that  I  sinned,  and  I  repent  of  my 
thought  and  am  unable  to  speak,  for  I  am  ashamed." 

The  hetman  pressed  Pan  Michael  to  his  heart  in  silence. 
"There  is  a  handful  of  us,"  said  he;  "but  others  will 
follow  the  example." 

"  When  am  I  to  go?  "  asked  the  little  knight.  " I  could 
go  even  to  the  Crimea,  for  I  have  been  there." 

"  No,"  answered  the  hetman ;  "  to  the  Crimea  I  will  send 
Pan  Rushchyts.  He  has  relations  there,  and  even  name- 
sakes, likely  cousins,  who,  seized  in  childhood  by  the  horde, 
have  become  Mussulmans  and  obtained  office  among  the 
Pagans.  They  will  help  him  in  everything.  Besides,  I 
need  you  in  the  field ;  there  is  no  man  your  equal  in  deal- 
ing with  Tartars." 

"When  have  1  to  go  ?  "  repeated  the  little  knight. 


64 


PAN   MICHAEL. 


"  In  two  weeks  at  furthest.  I  need  to  confer  yet  with, 
the  vice-chancellor  of  the  kingdom  and  with  the  treasurer, 
to  prepare  letters  for  Rushchyts  and  give  him  instructions. 
But  be  ready,  for  I  shall  be  urgent." 

"  I  shall  be  ready  from  to-morrow." 

"  God  reward  you  for  the  intention  !  but  it  is  not  need- 
ful to  be  ready  so  soon.  Moreover,  you  will  not  go  to  stay 
long ;  for  during  the  election,  if  only  there  is  peace,  I  shall 
need  you  in  Warsaw.'  You  have  heard  of  candidates. 
What  is  the  talk  among  nobles  ?  " 

"  I  came  from  the  cloister  not  long  since,  and  there  they 
do  not  think  of  worldly  matters.  I  know  only  what  Pan 
Zagloba  has  told  me." 

"  True.  I  can  obtain  information  from  him ;  he  is 
widely  known  among  the  nobles.  But  for  whom  do  you 
think  of  voting  ?  " 

"  I  know  not  myself  yet ;  but  I  think  that  a  -  military 
king  is  necessary  for  us." 

"  Yes,  yes  !  I  have  such  a  man  too  in  mind,  who  by  his 
name  alone  would  terrify  our  neighbors.  We  need  a  mili- 
tary king,  as  was  Stefan  Batory.  But  farewell,  cherished 
soldier !  We  need  a  military  king.  Do  you  repeat  this  to 
all.  Farewell.  God  reward  you  for  your  readiness  !  " 

Pan  Michael  took  farewell  and  went  out.  On  the  road 
he  meditated.  The  soldier,  however,  was  glad  that  he  had 
before  him  a  week  or  two,  for  that  friendship  and  consola- 
tion which  Krysia  gave  was  dear  to  him.  He  was  pleased 
also  with  the  thought  that  he  would  return  to  the  election, 
and  in  general  he  went  home  without  suffering.  The 
steppes  too  had  for  him  a  certain  charm ;  he  was  pining 
for  them  without  knowing  it.  He  was  so  used  to  those 
spaces  without  end,  in  which  the  horseman  feels  himself 
more  a  bird  than  a  man. 

"  Well,  I  will  go,"  said  he,  "  to  those  measureless  fields, 
to  those  stanitsas  and  mounds,  to  taste  the  old  life  again, 
make  new  campaigns  with  the  soldiers,  to  guard  those 
boundaries  like  a  crane,  to  frolic  in  spring  in  the  grass,  — 
well,  now,  I  will  go,  I  will  go !  " 

Meanwhile  he  urged  on  the  horse  and  went  at  a  gallop, 
for  he  was  yearning  for  the  speed  and  the  whistle  of  the 
wind  in  his  ears.  The  day  was  clear,  dry,  frosty.  Frozen 
snow  covered  the  ground  and  squeaked  under  the  feet 
of  the  horse.  Compressed  lumps  of  it  flew  with  force 
from  his  hoofs.  Pan  Michael  sped  forward  so  that  his 


PAN   MICHAEL.  6/5 

attendant,  sitting  on  an  inferior  horse^  remained  fa*  behind. 
It  was  near  sunset ;  a  little  later  twilight  was  in  the  heavens, 
casting  a  violet  reflection  on  the  snowy  expanse.  On  the 
ruddy  sky  the  first  twinkling  stars  came  out;  the  moon 
hung  in  the  form  of  a  silver  sickle.  The  road  was  empty ; 
the  knight  passed  an  odd  wagon  and  flew  on  without  inter- 
ruption. Only  when  he  saw  Ketling's  house  in  the  distance 
did  he  rein  in  his  horse  and  let  his  attendant  come  up.  All 
at  once  he  saw  a  slender  figure  coming  toward  him.  It  was 
Krysia. 

When  he  recognized  her,  Pan  Michael  sprang  at  once  from 
his  horse,  which  he  gave  to  the  attendant,  and  hurried  up  to 
the  maiden,  somewhat  astonished,  but  still  more  delighted 
at  sight  of  her.  "Soldiers  declare,"  said  he,  "that  at 
twilight  we  may  meet  various  supernatural  beings,  who  are 
sometimes  of  evil,  sometimes  of  good,  omen ;  but  for  me 
there  can  be  no  better  omen  than  to  meet  you." 

"Pan  Adam  has  come,"  answered  Krysia;  "he  is  passing 
the  time  with  Basia  and  Pani  Makovetski.  I  slipped  out 
purposely  to  meet  you,  for  I  was  anxious  about  what  the 
hetman  had  to  say." 

The  sincerity  of  these  words  touched  the  little  knight  to 
the  heart.  "  Is  it  true  that  you  are  so  concerned  abou^ 
me  ?  "  asked  he,  raising  his  eyes  to  her. 

"  It  is,"  answered  Krysia,  with  a  low  voice. 

Pan  Michael  did  not  take  his  eyes  from  her  ;  never  before 
had  she  seemed  to  him  so  attractive.  On  her  head  was  a 
satin  hood ;  white  swan's-down  encircled  her  small,  palish 
face,  on  which  the  moonlight  was  falling, — light  which 
shone  mildly  on  those  noble  brows,  downc-ast  eyes,  long  lids, 
and  that  dark,  barely  visible  down  above  her  mouth.  There 
was  a  certain  calm  in  that  face  and  great  goodness.  Pan 
Michael  felt  at  the  moment  that  the. face  was  a  friendly 
and  beloved  one  ;  therefore  he  said, — 

"  Were  it  not  for  the  attendant  who  is  riding  behind,  I 
should  fall  on  the  snow  at  your  feet  from  thankfulness." 

"  Do  not  say  such  things,"  answered  Krysia,  "  for  I  am 
not  worthy ;  but  to  reward  me  say  that  you  will  remain 
with  us,  and  that  I  shall  be  able  to  comfort  you  longer." 

"  I  shall  not  remain,"  said  Pan  Michael. 

Krysia  stopped  suddenly.     "  Impossible  !  " 

'•'  Usual  soldier's  service  !  I  go  to  Russia  and  to  the 
Wilderness." 

"  Usual  service  ?  "  repeated  Krysia.     And  she  began  to 

6 


66  PAN  MICHAEL. 

hurry  in  silence  toward  the  house.  Pan  Michael  walked 
quickly  at  her  side,  a  trifle  confused.  Somehow  it  was  a 
little  oppressive  and  dull  in  his  mind.  He  wanted  to  say 
something  ;  he  wanted  to  begin  conversation  again ;  he  did 
not  succeed.  But  still  it  seemed  to  him  that' he  had  a  thou- 
sand things  to  say  to  her,  and  that  just  then  was  the  time, 
while  they  were  alone  and  no  one  preventing. 

"If  I  begin,"  thought  he,  "it  will  go  on;  "  therefore  he 
inquired  all  at  once,  "  But  is  it  long  since  Pan  Adam  came  ?  " 

"  Not  long,"  answered  Krysia. 

And  again  their  conversation  stopped. 

"  The  road  is  not  that  way,"  thought  Pan  Michael.  "  While 
I  begin  in  that  fashion,  I  shall  never  say  anything.  But  I 
see  that  sorrow  has  gnawed  away  what  there  was  of  my 
wit." 

And  for  a  time  he  hurried  on  in  silence  ;  his  mustaches 
merely  quivered  more  and  more  vigorously.  At  last  he 
halted  before  the  house  and  said,  "  Think,  if  I  deferred  my 
happiness  so  many  years  to  serve  the  country,  with  what 
face  could  I  refuse  now  to  put  off  my  own  comfort  ?  " 

It  seemed  to  the  little  knight  that  such  a  simple  'argu- 
ment should  convince  Krysia  at  once  ;  in  fact,  after  a  while 
«he  answered  with  sadness  and  mildness,  "  The  more  nearly 
one  knows  Pan  Michael,  the  more  one  respects  and  honors 
him." 

Then  she  entered  the  house.  Basia's  exclamations  of 
"  Allah  !  Allah ! "  reached  her  in  the  entrance.  And 
when  they  came  to  the  reception-room,  they  saw  Pan  Adam 
in  the  middle  of  it,  blindfolded,  bent  forward,  and  with 
outstretched  arms  trying  to  ca.tch  Basia,  who  was  hiding  in 
corners  and  giving  notice  of  her  presence  by  cries  of 
"  Allah  ! "  Pani  Makovetski  was  occupied  near  the  window 
in  conversation  with  Zagloba. 

The  entrance  of  Krysia  and  the  little  knight  interrupted 
the  amusement.  Pan  Adam  pulled  off  the  handkerchief 
and  ran  to  greet  Volodyovski.  Immediately  after  came 
Pani  Makovetski,  Zagloba,  and  the  panting  Basia. 

"  What  is  it  ?  what  is  it  ?  What  did  the  hetman  say  ?  " 
asked  one,  interrupting  another. 

"Lady  sister,"  answered  Pan  Michael,  "if  you  wish  to 
send  a  letter  to  your  husband,  you  have  a  chance,  for  I  am 
going  to  Russia." 

"  Is  he  sending  you  ?  In  God's  name,  do  not  volunteer 
yet,  and  do  not  go,"  cried  his  sister,  with  a  pitiful  voice. 
"  Will  they  not  give  you  this  bit  of  time  ?  " 


PAN  MICHAEL.  67 

"  Is  your  command  fixed  already  ? "  asked  Zagloba, 
gloomily.  "Your  sister  says  justly  that  they  are  thresh- 
ing you  as  with  flails." 

"  Rushchy ts  is  going  to  the  Crimea,  and  I  take  the  squad- 
ron after  him ;  for  as  Pan  Adam  has  mentioned  already, 
the  roads  will  surely  be  black  (with  the  enemy)  in  spring." 

"  Are  we  alone  to  guard  this  Commonwealth  from  thieves, 
as  a  dog  guards  a  house  ?  "  cried  Zagloba.  "  Other  men  do 
not  know  from  which  end  of  a  musket  to  shoot,  but  for  us 
there  is  no  rest." 

"Never  mind!  I  have  nothing  to  say,"  answered  Pan 
Michael.  "  Service  is  service !  I  gave  the  hetman.  my 
word  that  I  would  go,  and  earlier  or  later  it  is  all  the  same." 
Here  Pan  Michael  put  his  finger  on  his  forehead  and  re- 
peated the  argument  which  he  had  used  once  with  Krysia, 
"  You  see  that  if  I  put  off  my  happiness  so  many  years  to 
serve  the  Commonwealth,  with  what  face  can  I  refuse  to 
give  up  the  pleasure  which  I  find  in  your  company  ?  " 

No  one  made  answer  to  this;  only  Basia  came  up,  with 
lips  pouting  like  those  of  a  peevish  child,  and  said,  "  I  am 
sorry  for  Pan  Michael." 

Pan  Michael  laughed  joyously.  "God  grant  you  happy 
fortune !  But  only  yesterday  you  said  that  you  could  no 
more  endure  me  than  a  wild  Tartar." 

"  What  Tartar  ?  I  did  not  say  that  at  all.  You  will  be 
working  there  against  the  Tartars,  and  we  shall  be  lonely 
here  without  you." 

"  Oh,  little  haiduk,  comfort  yourself ;  forgive  me  for  the 
name,  but  it  fits  you  most  wonderfully.  The  hetman  in- 
formed me  that  my  command  would  not  last  long.  I  shall 
set  out  in  a  week  or  two,  and  must  be  in  Warsaw  at  the 
election.  The  hetman  himself  wishes  me  to  come,  and  I 
shall  be  here  even  if  Rushchyts  does  not  return  from  the 
Crimea  in  May." 

"  Oh,  that  is  splendid !  " 

"  I  will  go  with  the  colonel ;  I  will  go  surely,"  said  Pan 
Adam,  looking  quickly  at  Basia  ;  and  she  said  in  answer,  — 

"  There  will  be  not  a  few  like  you.  It  is  a  delight  for 
men  to  serve  under  such  a  commander.  Go  ;  go !  It  will 
be  pleasanter  for  Pan  Michael." 

The  young  man  only  sighed  and  stroked  his  forelock  with 
his  broad  palm ;  at  last  he  said,  stretching  his  hands,  as  if 
playing  blind-man's-buff,  "But  first  I  will  catch  Panna 
Barbara!  I  will  catch  her  most  surely." 


68  PAN   MICHAEL. 

"  Allah  !  Allah ! "  exclaimed  Basia,  starting  back. 

Meanwhile  Krysia  approached  Pan  Michael,  with  face 
radiant  and  full  of  quiet  joy.  "  But  you  are  not  kind,  not 
kind  to  nie,  Pan  Michael ;  you  are  better  to  Basia  than  to 
me." 

"  I  not  kind  ?  I  better  to  Basia  ?  "  asked  the  knight, 
with  astonishment. 

"You  told  Basia  that  you  were  coming  back  to  the 
election ;  if  I  had  known  that,  I  should  not  have  taken 
your  departure  to  heart." 

"  My  golden  —  "  cried  Pan  Michael.  But  that  instant  he 
checked  himself  and  said,  "  My  dear  friend,  I  told  you  little, 
for  I  had  lost  my  head." 


I'AX   MICHAEL.  69 


CHAPTER  X. 

PAN  MICHAEL  began  to  prepare  slowly  for  his  departure ; 
lie  did  not  cease,  however,  to  give  lessons  to  Basia,  whom 
he  liked  more  and  more,  nor  to  walk  alone  with  Krysia  and 
seek  consolation  in  her  society.  It  seemed  to  him  also  that 
he  found  it ;  for  his  good-humor  increased  daily,  and  in  the 
evening  he  even  took  part  in  the  games  of  Basia  and  Pan 
Adam.  That  young  cavalier  became  an  agreeable  guest  at 
Ketling's  house.  He  came  in  the  morning  or  at  midday, 
and  remained  till  evening;  as  all  liked  him,  they  were  glad 
to  see  him,  and  very  soon  they  began  to  hold  him  as  one  of 
the  family.  He  took  the  ladies  to  Warsaw,  gave  their 
orders  at  the  silk  shops,  and  in  the  evening  played  blind- 
man's-buff  and  patience  with  them,  repeating  that  he 
must  absolutely  catch  the  unattainable  Basia  before  his 
departure. 

But  Basia  laughed  and  escaped  always,  though  Zagloba 
said  to  her,  "  If  this  one  does  not  catch  you  at  last,  another 
man  will." 

It  became  clearer  and  clearer  that  just  "  this  one  "  had 
resolved  to  catch  her.  This  must  have  come  even  to  the 
head  of  the  haiduk  herself,  for  she  fell  sometimes  to 
thinking  till  the  forelock  dropped  into  her  eyes  altogether. 
Pan  Zagloba  had  his  reasons,  according  to  which  Pan  Adam 
was  not  suitable.  A.  certain  evening,  when  all  had  retired, 
he  knocked  at  Pan  Michael's  chamber. 

"  I  am  so  sorry  that  we  must  part,"  said  he,  "  that  I  have 
come  to  get  a  good  look  at  you.  God  knows  when  we  shall 
see  each  other  again." 

"  I  shall  come  in  all  certainty  to  the  election,"  said  the 
little  knight,  embracing  his  old  friend,  "  and  I  will  tell  you 
why.  The  hetman  wishes  to  have  here  the  largest  number 
possible  of  men  beloved  by  the  knighthood,  so  that  they 
may  capture  nobles  for  his  candidate  ;  and  because  — thanks 
to  God  !  —  my  name  has  some  weight  among  our  brethren, 
he  wants  me  to  come  surely.  He  counts  on  you  also." 

"  Indeed,  he  is  trying  to  catch  me  with  a  large  net ;  yet 
I  see  something,  and  though  I  am  rather  bulky,  still  I  can 


70  PAN   MICHAEL. 

creep  out  through  any  hole  in  that  net.     I  will  not  vote  foi 
a  Frenchman.'1 
«  Why  ?  " 

"  Because  he  would  be  for  absolution  dominium  (absolute 
rule)." 

"  Conde  would  have  to  swear  to  the  pacta  conventa  like 
any  other  man ;  and  he  must  be  a  great  leader,  —  he  is 
renowned  for  warlike  achievement." 

"  With  God's  favor  we  have  no  need  of  seeking  leaders  in 
France.  Pan  Sobieski  himself  is  surely  no  worse  than 
Conde'.  Think  of  it,  Michael ;  the  French  wear  stockings 
like  the  Swedes ;  therefore,  like  them  they  of  course  keep 
no  oaths.  Carolus  Gustavus  was  ready  to  take  an  oath 
every  hour.  For  the  Swedes  to  take  an  oath  or  crack  a  nut 
is  all  one.  What  does  a  pact  mean  when  a  man  has  no 
honesty  ?  " 

"But  the  Commonwealth  needs  defence.  Oh,  if  Prince 
Yeremi  were  alive !  We  would  elect  him  king  with  one 
voice." 

"His  son  is  alive,  the  same  blood." 

"  But  not  the  same  courage.  It  is  God's  pity  to  look  at 
him,  for  he  is  more  like  a  serving-man  than  a  prince  of  such 
worthy  blood.  If  it  were  a  different  time  !  But  now  the 
first  virtue  is  regard  for  the  good  of  the  country.  Pan  Yan 
says  the  same  thing.  Whatever  the  hetman  does,  I  will  do, 
for  I  believe  in  his  love  of  the  Commonwealth  as  in  the 
Gospel." 

<<  It  is  time  to  think  of  that.  It  is  too  bad  that  you  are 
going  now." 

"  But  what  will  you  do  ?  " 

"  I  will  go  to  Pan  Yan.  The  boys  torment  me  at  times  ; 
still,  when  I  am  away  for  a  good  while  I  feel  lonelv  without 
them." 

"If  war  comes  after  the  election,  Pan  Yan  too  will  go  to 
it.  Who  knows  ?  You  may  take  the  field  yourself ;  we 
may  campaign  yet  together  in  Russia.  How  much  good 
and  evil  have  we  gone  through  in  those  parts  ! " 

"  True,  .as  God  is  dear  to  me  !  there  our  best  years  flowed 
by.  At  times  the  wish  comes  to  see  all  those  places  which 
witnessed  our  glory." 

"  Then  come  with  me  now.  We  shall  be  cheerful  together ; 
in  five  months  I  will  return  to  Ketling.  He  will  be  at  home 
then,  and  Pan  Yan  will  be  here." 

"  No,  Michael,  it  is  not  the  time  for  me  now ;  but  I  prom- 


PAN  MICHAEL.  71 

ise  that  if  you  marry  some  lady  with  land  in  Russia,  I  will 
go  with  you  and  see  your  installation." 

Pan  Michael  was  confused  a  little,  but  answered  at  once, 
"  How  should  I  have  a  wife  in  my  head  ?  The  best  proof 
that  I  have  not  is  that  I  am  going  to  the  army." 

"  It  is  that  which  torments  me  ;  for  I  used  to  think,  if  not 
one,  then  another  woman.  Michael,  have  God  in  your 
heart ;  stop;  where  will  you  find  a  better  chance  than  just 
at  this  moment  ?  Remember  that  years  will  come  later  in 
which  you  will  say  to  yourself :  'Each  has  his  wife  and  his 
children,  but  I  am  alone,  like  Matsek's  pear-tree,  sticking 
up  in  the  field.'  And  sorrow  will  seize  you  and  terrible 
yearning.  If  you  had  married  that  dear  one ;  if  she  had 
left  children,  —  I  should  not  trouble  you  ;  I  should  have 
some  object  for  my  affection  and  ready  hope  for  consolation ; 
but  as  things  now  are,  the  time  may  come  when  you  will 
look  around  in  vain  for  a  near  soul,  and  you  will  ask  your- 
self, '  Am  I  living  in  a  foreign  country  ?  ' ' 

Pan  Michael  was  silent ;  he  meditated  ;  therefore  Zagloba 
began  to  speak  again,  looking  quickly  into  the  face  of  the 
little  knight,  "  In  my  mind  and  my  heart  I  chose  first  of  all 
that  rosy  haiduk  for  you  :  to  begin  with,  she  is  gold,  not  a 
maiden  ;  and  secondly,  such  venomous  soldiers  as  you  would 
give  to  the  world  have  not  been  on  earth  yet." 

"  She  is  a  storm  ;  besides,  Pan  Adam  wants  to  strike  fire 
with  her." 

"  That 's  it,  —  that 's  it !  To-day  she  would  prefer  you 
to  a  certainty,  for  she  is  in  love  with  your  glory ;  but  when 
you  go,  and  he  remains  —  I  know  he  will  remain,  the  rascal ! 
for  there  is  no  war  —  who  knows  what  will  happen  ?  " 

"  Basia  is  a  storm  !  Let  Novoveski  take  her.  I  wish 
him  well,  because  he  is  a  brave  man." 

"Michael!"  said  Zagloba,  clasping  his  hands,  "think 
what  a  posterity  that  would  be  !  " 

To  this  the  little  knight  answered  with  the  greatest  sim- 
plicity, <;  I  knew  two  brothers  Bal  whose  mother  was  a 
Drohoyovski,1  and  they  were  excellent  soldiers." 

"  Ah  !  I  was  waiting  for  that.  You  have  turned  in  that 
direction?"  cried  Zag-loba. 

Pan  Michael  was  confused  beyond  measure ;  at  last  he 
replied,  "  What  do  you.  say  ?  I  am  turning  to  no  side  ;  but 
when  I  thought  of  Basia's  bravery,  which  is  really  manlike, 

1  Drohoyovski  is  Panna  Krysia's  family  name. 


72  PAN  MICHAEL. 

Krysia  came  to  my  mind  at  once  ;  in  her  there  is  more  of 
woman's  nature.  When  one  of  them  is  mentioned,  the 
other  comes  to  mind,  for  they  are  both  together." 

"  Well,  well !  God  bless  you  with  Krysia,  though  as  God 
is  dear  to  me,  if  I  were  young,  I  should  fall  in  love  with 
Basia  to  kill.  You  would  not  need  to  leave  such  a  wife  at 
home  in  time  of  war ;  you  could  take  her  to  the  field,  and 
have  her  at.  your  side.  Such  a  woman  would  be  good  for 
you  in  the  tent ;  and  if  it  came  to  that,  even  in  time  of 
battle  she  would  handle  a  musket.  But  she  is  honest  and 
good.  Oh,  my  haiduk,  my  little  darling  haiduk,  they  have 
not  known  you  here,  and  have  nourished  you  with  thank- 
lessness  ;  but  if  I  were  something  like  sixty  years  younger, 
I  should  see  what  sort  of  a  Pani  Zagloba  there  would  be  in 
my  house." 

"  I  do  not  detract  from  Basia." 

"  It  is  not  a  question  of  detracting  from  her  virtues,  but 
of  giving  her  a  husband.  But  you  prefer  Krysia." 

"  Krysia  is  my  friend." 

"  Your  friend,  not  your  friendess  ?  That  must  be  because 
she  has  a  mustache.  I  am  your  friend ;  Pan  Yan  is  ;  so  is 
Ketling.  You  do  not  need  a  man  for  a  friend,  but  a  woman. 
Tell  this  to  yourself  clearly,  and  don't  throw  a  cover  over 
your  eyes.  Guard  yourself,  Michael,  against  a  friend  of 
the  fair  sex,  even  though  that  friend  has  a  mustache;  for 
either  you  will  betray  that  friend,  or  you  yourself  will 
be  betrayed.  The  Devil  does  not  sleep,  and  he  is  glad  to 
sit  between  such  friends;  as  example  of  this,  Adam  and 
Eve  began  to  be  friends,  till  that  friendship  became  a  bone 
in  Adam's  throat." 

"  Do  not  offend  Krysia,  for  I  will  not  endure  it  in  any 
way." 

"  God  guard  Krysia !  There  is  no  one  above  my  little 
haiduk ;  but  Krysia  is  a  good  maiden  too.  I  do  not  attack 
her  in  any  way,  but  I  say  this  to  you :  When  you  sit 
near  her,  your  cheeks  are  as  flushed  as  if  some  one  had 
pinched  them,  and  your  mustaches  are  quivering,  your  fore- 
lock rises,  and  you  are  panting  and  striking  with  your  feet 
and  stamping  like  a  ring-dove ;  and.  all  this  is  a  sign  of 
desires.  Tell  some  one  else  about  friendship ;  I  am  too  old 
a  sparr&w  for  that  talk." 

"  So  old  that  you  see  that  which  is  not." 

"  Would  that  I  were  mistaken !  Would  that  my  haiduk 
were  in  question !  Michael,  good-night  to  you.  Take  the 


PAN    MIC1IAKL.  73 

haiduk;  the  liaiduk  is  the  couielier.  Take  the  haiduk;  take 
the  haiduk ! " 

Zagloba  rose  and  went  out  of  the  room. 

Pan  Michael  tossed  about  the  whole  night ;  he  could  not 
sleep,  for  unquiet  thoughts  passed  through  his  head  all  the 
time.  He  saw  before  him  Krysia's  face,  her  eyes  with 
long  lashes,  and  her  lip  with  down.  Dozing  seized  him  at 
moments,  but  the  vision  did  not  vanish.  On  waking,  he 
remembered  the  words  of  Zagloba,  and  called  to  mind  how 
rarely  the  wit  of  that  man  was  mistaken  in  anything.  At 
times  when  half  sleeping,  half  waking,  the  rosy  face  of  Basia 
gleamed  before  him,  and  the  sight  calmed  him ;  but  again 
Krysia  took  her  place  quickly.  The  poor  knight  turns  to 
the  wall  now,  sees  her  eyes ;  turns  to  the  darkness  in  the 
room,  sees  her  eyes,  and  in  them  a  certain  languishing,  a 
certain  encouragement.  At  times  those  eyes  are  closing, 
as  if  to  say,  "  Let  thy  will  be  done  !  "  Pan  Michael  sat 
up  in  the  bed  and  crossed  himself.  Toward  morning  the 
dream  flew  away  altogether ;  then  it  became  oppressive  and 
bitter  to  him.  Shame  seized  him,  and  he  began  to  reproach 
himself  harshly,  because  he  did  not  see  before  him  that 
beloved  one  who  was  dead ;  that  he  had  his  eyes,  his  heart, 
his  soul,  full  not  of  her,  but  of  the  living.  It  seemed  to  him 
that  he  hud  sinned  against  the  memory  of  Anusia,  hence  he 
shook  himself  once  and  a  second  time;  then  springing  from 
the  bed,  though  it  was  dark  yet,  he  began  to  say  his  morning 
"  Our  Father.'* 

When  Pan  Michael  had  finished,  he  put  his  finger  on 
his  forehead  and  said',  "  I  must  go  as  soon  as  possible,  and 
restrain  this  friendship  at  once,  for  perhaps  Zagloba  is 
right."  Then,  more  cheerful  and  calm,  he  went  down  to 
breakfast.  After  breakfast  he  fenced  with  Basia,  and 
noticed,  beyond  doubt,  for  the  first  time,  that  she  drew 
one's  eyes,  she  was  so  attractive  with  her  dilated  nostrils 
and  panting  breast.  He  seemed  to  avoid  Krysia,  who, 
noting  this,  followed  him  with  her  eyes,  staring  from 
astonishment;  but  he  avoided  even  her  glance.  It  was 
cutting  his  heart ;  but  he  held  out. 

After  dinner  he  went  with  Basia  to  the  storehouse,  where 
Ketling  had  another  collection  of  arms.  He  showed  her 
various  weapons,  and  explained  the  use  of  them.  Then 
they  shot  at  a  mark  from  Astrachan  bows.  The  niaidm 
•>v;is  made  happy  with  the  amusement,  and  became  giddit-r 
than  ever,  so  that  Pani  Makovetski  had  to  restrain  her. 


?4  PAN  MICHAEL. 

Thus  passed  the  second  day.  On  the  third  Pan  Michael 
went  with  Zagloba  to  Warsaw  to  the  Danilovich  Palace  to 
learn  something  concerning  the  time  of  his  departure.  In 
the  evening  the  little  knight  told  the  ladies  that  he  would 
go  surely  in  a  week.  While  saying  this,  he  tried  to  speak 
carelessly  and  joyfully.  He  did  not  even  look  at  Krysia. 
The  young  lady  was  alarmed,  tried  to  ask  him  touching 
various  things;  he  answered  politely,  with  friendliness, 
but  talked  more  with  Basia. 

Zagloba,  thinking  this  to  be  the  fruit  of  his  counsel, 
rubbed  his  hands  with  delight ;  but  since  nothing  could 
escape  his  eye,  he  saw  Krysia's  sadness.  "She  has  changed," 
thought  he ;  "  she  has  changed  noticeably.  Well,  that  is 
nothing,  —  the  ordinary  nature  of  fair  heads.  But  Michael 
has  turned  away  sooner  than  I  hoped.  He  is  a  man  in  a 
hundred,  but  a  whirlwind  in  love,  and  a  whirlwind  he  will 
remain." 

Zagloba  had,  in  truth,  a  good  heart,  and  was  sorry  at  once 
for  Panna  Krysia.  "I  will  say  nothing  to  the  maiden 
directly,"  thought  he,  "  but  I  must  think  out  some  conso- 
lation for  her."  Then,  using  the  privilege  of  age  and  a 
white  head,  he  went  to  her  after  supper  and  began  to  stroke 
her  black,  silky  hair.  She  sat  quietly,  raising  toward  him 
her  mild  eyes,  somewhat  astonished  at  his  tenderness,  but 
grateful. 

In  the  evening  Zagloba  nudged  Pan  Michael  in  the  side 
at  the  door  of  the  little  knighrs  room,  "  Well,  what  ?  "  said 
he.  "  No  one  can  beat  the  haiduk  ?  " 

"A  charming  kid,"  answered  Pan  Michael.  "She  will 
make  as  much  uproar  as  four  soldiers  in  the  house,  —  a 
regular  drummer." 

"  A  drummer  ?  God  grant  her  to  go  with  your  drum  as 
quickly  as  possible  ! " 

"  Good-night !  " 

"  Good-night !  Wonderful  creatures,  those  fair  heads  ! 
Since  you  approached  Basia  a  little,  have  you  noted  the 
change  in  Krysia  ?  " 

"  No,  I  have  not,"  answered  the  little  knight. 

"  As  if  some  one  had  tripped  her." 

^ "  Good-night,"  repeated  Pan  Michael,  and  went  quickly  to 
his  room. 

Zagloba,  in  counting  on  the  little  knight's  instability, 
over-reckoned  somewhat,  and  in  general  acted  awkwardly 
in  mentioning  the  change  in  Krysia ;  for  Pan  Michael  was 


PAN  MICHAEL.  75 

so  affected  that  something  seemed  to  seize  him  by  the 
throat. 

"And  this  is  how  I  pay  her  for  kindness,  for  comforting 
me  in  grief,  like  a  sister,"  said  he  to  himself.  "  Well,  what 
evil  have  I  done  to  her  ?  "  thought  he,  after  a  moment  of 
meditation.  "  What  have  I  done  ?  I  have  slighted  her 
for  three  days,  which  was  rude,  to  say  the  least.  I  have 
slighted  the  cherished  girl,  the  dear  one.  Because  she 
wished  to  cure  my  wounds,  I  have  nourished  her  with 
ingratitude.  If  I  only  knew,"  continued  he,  "  how  to  pre- 
serve measure  and  restrain  dangerous  friendship,  and  not 
offend  her;  but  evidently  my  wit  is  too  dull  for  such 
management." 

Pan  Michael  was  angry  at  himself ;  but  at  the  same  time 
great  pity  rose  in  his  breast.  Involuntarily  he  began  to  think 
of  Krysia  as  of  a  beloved  and  injured  person.  Anger  against 
himself  grew  in  him  every  moment. 

"  I  am  a  barbarian,  a  barbarian ! "  repeated  he.  And 
Krysia  overwhelmed  Basia  completely  in  his  mind.  "  Let 
him  who  pleases  take  that  kid,  that  wind-mill,  that  rattler," 
said  he  to  himself,  —  "  Pan  Adam  or  the  Devil,  it  is  all  one 
to  me  ! " 

Anger  rose  in  him  against  Basia,  who  was  indebted  to 
God  for  her  disposition ;  but  it  never  came  to  his  head 
once  that  he  might  wrong  her  more  with  this  anger  than 
Krysia  with  his  pretended  indifference.  Krysia,  with  a 
woman's  instinct,  divined  straightway  that  some  change 
was  taking  place  in  Pan  Michael.  It  was  at  once  both 
bitter  and  sad  for  the  maiden  that  the  little  knight  seemed 
to  avoid  her ;  but  she  understood  instantly  that  something 
must  be  decided  between  them,  and  that  their  friendship 
could  not  continue  unmodified,  but  must  become  either  far 
greater  than  it  had 'been  or  cease  altogether.  Hence  she 
was  seized  by  alarm,  which  increased  at  the  thought  of  Pan 
Michael's  speedy  departure.  Love  was  not  in  Krysia's  heart 
yet.  The  maiden  had  not  come  to  self-consciousness  on 
that  point ;  but  in  her  heart  and  in  her  blood  there  was  a 
great  readiness  for  love.  Perhaps  too  she  felt  a  light  turn- 
ing of  the  head.  Pan  Michael  was  surrounded  with  the 
glory  of  the  first  soldier  in  the  Commonwealth.  All  knights 
were  repeating  his  name  .with  respect.  His  sister  exalted 
his  honor  to  the  sky;  the  charm  of  misfortune  covered 
him;  and  in  addition,  the  young  lady,  living  under  the 
same  roof  with  him,  grew  accustomed  to  his  attraction. 


76  PAN  MICHAEL. 

Krysia  had  this  in  her  nature,  she  was  fond  of  being 
loved ;  therefore  when  Pan  Michael  began  in  those  recent 
days  to  treat  her  with  indifference,  her  self-esteem  suffered 
greatly ;  but  having  a  good  heart,  she  resolved  not  to  show 
an  angry  face  or  vexation,  and  to  win  him  by  kindness. 
That  came  to  her  all  the  more  easily,  since  on  the  following 
day  Pan  Michael  had  a  penitent  mien,  and  not  only  did  not 
avoid  Krysia's  glance,  but  looked  into  her  eyes,  as  if  wish- 
ing to  say,  "  Yesterday  I  offended  you ;  to-day  I  implore 
your  forgiveness."  He  said  so  much  to  her  with  his  eyes 
that  under  their  influence  the  blood  flowed  to  the  young 
lady's  face,  and  her  disquiet  was  increased,  as  if  with  a 
presentiment  that  very  soon  something  important  would 
happen.  In  fact,  it  did  happen.  In  the  afternoon  Pani 
Makovetski  went  with  Basia  to  Basia's  relative,  the  wife  of 
the  chamberlain  of  Lvoff,  who  was  stopping  in  Warsaw ; 
Krysia  feigned  purposely  a  headache,  for  curiosity  seized 
her  to  know  what  she  and  Pan  Michael  would  do  if  left  to 
themselves. 

Zagloba  did  not  go,  it  is  true,  to  the  chamberlain's  wife, 
but  he  had  the  habit  of  sleeping  a  couple  of  hours  after 
dinner,  for  he  said  that  it  saved  him  from  fatness,  and  gave 
him  clear  wit  in  the  evening;  therefore,  after  he  had 
chatted  an  hour  or  so,  he  began  to  prepare  for  his  room. 
Krysia's  heart  beat  at  once  more  unquietly.  But  what  a 
disillusion  was  awaiting  her !  Pan  Michael  sprang  up,  and 
went  out  with  Zagloba. 

"He  will  come  back  soon,"  thought  Krysia.  And  taking 
a  little  drum,  she  began  to  embroider  on  it  a  gold  top  for 
a  cap  to  give  Pan  Michael  at  his  departure.  Her  eyes  rose, 
however,  every  little  while,  and  went  to  the  Dantzig  clock, 
which  stood  in  the  corner  of  Ketling's  room,  and  ticked 
with  importance. 

But  one  hour  and  a  second  passed ;  Pan  Michael  was  not 
to  be  seen.  Krysia  placed  the  drum  on  her  knees,  and 
crossing  her  hands  on  it,  said  in  an  undertone,  "  But  before 
he  decides,  they  may  come,  and  we  shall  not  say  anything, 
or  Pan  Zagloba  may  wake." 

It  seemed  to  her  in  that  moment  that  they  had  in  truth 
to  speak  of  some  important  affair,  which  might  be  deferred 
through  the  fault  of  Pan  Michael.  At  last,  however,  his 
steps  were  heard  in  the  next  room.  "He  is  wandering 
around,"  thought  she,  and  began  to  embroider  diligently 
again. 


1'AN   MICHAEL.  77 

Volodyovski  was,  in  fact,  wandering;  he  was  walking 
through  the  room,  and  did  not  dare  to  come  in.  Meanwhile 
the  sun  was  growing  red  and  approaching  its  setting. 

"  Pan  Michael !  "  called  Krysia,  suddenly. 

He  came  in  and  found  her  sewing.      "  Did  you  call  me  ?  " 

"  I  wished  to  know  if  some  stranger  was  walking  in  the 
house  ;  I  have  been  here  alone  for  two  hours." 

Pan  Michael  drew  up  a  chair  and  sat  on  the  edge  of  it. 
A  long  time  elapsed  ;  he  was  silent ;  his  feet  clattered  some- 
what as  he  pushed  them  under  the  table,  and  his  mustache 
quivered.  Krysia  stopped  sewing  and  raised  her  eyes  to 
him  ;  their  glances  met,  and  then  both  dropped  their  eyes 
suddenly. 

When  Pan  Michael  raised  his  eyes  again,  the  last  rays  of 
the  sun  were  falling  on  Krysia's  face,  and  it  was  beautiful 
in  the  light;  her  hair  gleamed  in  its  folds  like  gold.  "In 
a  couple  of  days  you  are  going  ?"  asked  she,  so  quietly  that 
Pan  Michael  barely  heard  her. 

"  It  cannot  be  otherwise." 

Again  a  moment  of  silence,  after  which  Krysia  said,  "  I 
thought  these  last  days  that  you  were  angry  with  me." 

"  As  I  live,"  cried  Pan  Michael,  "  I  would  not  be  worthy 
of  your  regard  if  I  had  been,  but  I  was  not." 

••  \Yhat  was  the  matter  ?  "  asked  Krysia,  raising  her  eyes 
to  him. 

"  I  wish  to  speak  sincerely,  for  I  think  that  sincerity  is 
always  better  than  dissimulation;  but  I  cannot  tell  how 
much  solace  you  have  poured  into  my  heart,  and  how 
grateful  I  feel." 

"  God  grant  it  to  be  always  so ! "  said  Krysia,  crossing 
her  hands  on  the  drum. 

To  this  Pan  Michael  answered  with  great  sadness,  "  God 
grant !  God  grant  —  But  Pan  Zagloba  told  me  —  I  speak 
before  you  as  before  a  priest  —  Pan  Zagloba  told  me  that 
friendship  with  fair  heads  is  not  a  safe  thing,  for  a  more 
ardent  feeling  maybe  hidden  beneath  it,  as  fire  under  ashes. 
I  thought  that  perhaps  Pan  Zagloba  was  right.  Forgive 
me,  a  simple  soldier;  another  would  have  brought  out  the 
idea  more  cleverly,  but  my  heart  is  bleeding  because  I  have 
offended  you  these  recent  days,  and  life  is  not  pleasant  to 
me." 

AY  hen  he  had  said  this,  Pan  Michael  began  to  move  his 
mustaches  more  quickly  than  any  beetle.  Krysia  dropped 
her  head,  and  after  a  while  two  tears  rolled  down  her 


78  PAN  MICHAEL. 

cheeks.  "If  it  will  be  easier  for  you,  I  will  conceal  iny 
sisterly  affection."  A  second  pair  of  tears,  and  then  a 
third,  appeared  on  her  cheeks. 

At  sight  of  this,  Pan  Michael's  heart  was  rent  completely ; 
he  sprang  toward  Krysia,  and  seized  her  hands.  The  drum 
rolled  from  her  knees  to  the  middle  of  the  room  ;  thejtnight, 
however,  did  not  care  for  that ;  he  only  pressed  those  warm, 
soft,  velvety  hands  to  his  mouth,  repeating,  — 

"  Do  not  weep.     For  God's  sake,  do  not  weep  ! " 

Pan  Michael  did  not  cease  to  kiss  the  hands  even  when 
Krysia  put  them  on  her  head,  as  people  do  usually  when 
embarrassed ;  but  he  kissed  them  the  more  ardently,  till 
the  warmth  coming  from  her  hair  and  forehead  intoxicated 
him  as  wine  does,  and  his  ideas  grew  confused.  Then  not 
knowing  himself  how  and  when,  his  lips  came  to  her  fore- 
head and  kissed  that  still  more  eagerly  ;  and  then  he  pushed 
down  to  her  tearful  eyes,  and  the  world  went  around  with 
him  altogether.  Next  he  felt  that  most  delicate  down  on 
her  lip;  and  after  that  their  mouths  met  and  were  pressed 
together  with  all  their  power.  Silence  fell  on  the  room ; 
only  the  clock  ticked  with  importance. 

Suddenly  Basia's  steps  were  heard  in  the  ante-room,  and 
her  childlike  voice  repeating,  "  Frost !  frost !  frost ! " 

Pan  Michael  sprang  away  from  Krysia  like  a  frightened 
panther  from  his  victim ;  and  at  that  moment  Basia  rushed 
in  with  an  uproar,  repeating  incessantly,  "  Frost !  frost ! 
frost ! "  Suddenly  she  stumbled  against  the  drum  lying  in 
the  middle  of  the  room.  Then  she  stopped,  and  looking 
with  astonishment,  now  on  the  drum,  now  on  Krysia,  now 
on  the  little  knight,  said,  "What  is  this  ?  You  struck  each 
other,  as  with  a  dart  ?  " 

"But  where  is  auntie?"  asked  Krysia,  striving  to  bring 
out  of  her  heaving  breast  a  quiet,  natural  voice. 

"Auntie  is  climbing  out  of  the  sleigh  by  degrees," 
answered  Basia,  with  an  eqtially  changed  voice.  Her  nos- 
trils moved  a  number  of  times.  She  looked  once  more  at 
Krysia  and  Pan  Michael,  who  by  that  time  had  raised  the 
drum,  then  she  left  the  room  suddenly. 

Pani  Makovetski  rolled  into  the  room ;  Pan  Zagloba 
came  downstairs,  and  a  conversation  set  in  about  the  wife 
of  the  chamberlain  of  Lvoff. 

"  I  did  not  know  that  she  was  Pan  Adam's  godmother," 
said  Pani  Makovetski ;  "  he  must  have  made  her  his  confi- 
dante, for  she  is  persecuting  Basia  with  him  terribly." 


PAN   MICHAEL.  79 

"  But  what  did  Basia  say  ?  "  asked  Zagloba. 

"*  A' halter  for  a  dog!'  She  said  to  the  chamberlain's 
lady  :  (  He  has  no  mustache,  and  I  have  no  sense ;  and  it  is 
not  known  which  one  will  get  what  is  lacking  first.'  " 

"  I  knew  that  she  would  not  lose  her  tongue ;  but 
who  knows  what  her  real  thought  is  ?  Ah,  woman's 
wiles ! " 

"With  Basia,  what  is  on  her  heart  is  on  her  lips. 
Besides,  I  have  told  you  already  that  she  does  not  feel  the 
will  of  God  yet ;  Krysia  does,  in  a  higher  degree."  . 

"  Auntie  !  "  said  Krysia,  suddenly. 

Further  conversation  was  interrupted  by  the  servant, 
who  announced  that  supper  was  on  the  table.  All  went 
then  to  the  dining-room ;  but  Basia  was  not  there. 

"  Where  is  the  young  lady  ?  "  asked  Pani  Makovetski 
of  the  servant. 

"  The  young  lady  is  in  the  stable.  I  told  the  young  lady 
that  supper  was  ready ;  the  young  lady  said,  '  Well,'  and 
went  to  the  stable." 

"Has  something  unpleasant  happened  to  her  ?  She  was 
so  gay,"  said  Pani  Makovetski,  turning  to  Zagloba. 

Then  the  little  knight,  who  had  an  unquiet  conscience, 
said,  "  I  will  go  and  bring  her."  And  he  hurried  out.  He 
found  her  just  inside  the  stable-door,  sitting  on  a  bundle  of 
hay.  She  was  so  sunk  in  thought  that  she  did  not  see  him 
as  he  entered. 

"Panna  Basia,"  said  the  little  knight,  bending  over 
her. 

Basia  trembled  as  if  roused  from  sleep,  and  raised  her 
eyes,  in  which  Pan  Michael  saw,  to  his  utter  astonishment, 
two  tears  as  large  as  pearls.  "  For  God's  sake !  What  is 
the  matter  ?  You  are  weeping." 

"I  do  not  dream  of  it,"  cried  Basia,  springing  up;  "I 
do  not  dream  of  it !  That  is  from  frost."  She  laughed 
joyously,  but  the  laughter  was  rather  forced.  Then,  wish- 
ing to  turn  attention  from  herself,  she  pointed  to  the  stall 
in  which  was  the  steed  given  Pan  Michael  by  the  hetman, 
and  said  with  animation,  "You  say  it  is  impossible  to  go  to 
that  horse  ?  Now  let  us  see  !  " 

And  before  Pan  Michael  could  restrain  her,  she  hud 
sprung  into  the  stall.  The  fierce  beast  began  to  rear,  to 
paw,  and  to  put  back  his  ears. 

"  For  God's  sake  !  he  will  kill  you ! "  cried  Pan  Michael, 
springing  after  her. 


80  TAN  MICHAEL. 

But  Basia  had  begun  already  to  stroke  with  her  palm  the 
shoulder  of  the  horse,  repeating,  "  Let  him  kill !  let  him 
kill !  " 

But  the  horse  turned  to  her  his  steaming  nostrils  and 
gave  a  low  neigh,  as  if  rejoiced  at  the  fondling. 


PAX    MICHAEL. 


CHAPTEK  XL 

ALL  the  nights  that  Pan  Michael  had  spent  were  nothing 
in  comparison  with  the  night  after  that  adventure  with 
Krysia.  For,  behold,  he  had  betrayed  the  memory  of  his 
dead  one,  and  he  loved  that  memory.  He  had  deceived  the 
confidence  of  the  living  woman,  had  abused  friendship,  had 
contracted  certain  obligations,  had  acted  like  a  man  without 
conscience.  Another  soldier  would  have  made  nothing  of 
such  a  kiss,  or,  what  is  more,  would  have  twisted  his 
mustache  at  thought  of  it ;  but  Pan  Michael  was  squeamish, 
especially  since  the  death  of  Anusia,  as  is  every  man  who 
has  a  soul  in  pain  and  a  torn  heart.  What  was  left  for 
him  to  do,  then  ?  How  was  he  to  act  ? 

Only  a  few  days  remained  until  his  departure ;  that 
departure  would  cut  short  everything.  But  was  it  proper 
to  go  without  a  word  to  Krysia,  and  leave  her  as  he  would 
leave  any  chamber-maid  from  whom  he  might  steal  a 
kiss?  The  brave  heart  of  Pan  Michael  trembled  at  the 
thought.  Even  in  the  struggle  in. which  he  was  then,  the 
thought  of  Krysia  filled  him  with  pleasure,  and  the  remem- 
brance of  that  kiss  passed  through  him  with  a  quiver  of 
delight.  Rage  against  his  own  head  seized  him  ;  still  he 
could  not  refrain  from  a  feeling  of  sweetness.  And  he 
took  the  whole  blame  on  himself. 

"  I  brought  Krysia  to  that,"  repeated  he,  with  bitterness 
and  pain  ;  "  I  brought  her  to  it,  therefore  it  is  not  just  for 
mie  to  go  away  without  a  word.  What,  then  ?  Make  a 
proposal,  and  go  away  Krysia's  betrothed  ?  " 

Here  the  form  of  Anusia  stood  before  the  knight,  dressed 
in  white,  and  pale  herself  as  wax,  just  as  he  had  laid  her 
in  the  coffin.  "  This  much  is  due  me,"  said  the  figure, 
"  that  you  mourn  and  grieve  for  me.  You  wished  at  first 
to  become  a  monk,  to  bewail  me  all  your  life  ;  but  now  you 
are  taking  another  before  my  poor  soul  could  fly  to  the 
gates  of  heaven.  Ah  !  wait,  let  me  reach  heaven  first;  let 
me  cease  looking  at  the  earth." 

And  it  seemed  to  the  knight  that  he  was  a  species  of 
perjurer  before  that  bright  soul  whose  memory  he  should 


82  PAN   MICHAEL. 

honor  and  hold  as  sacred.  Sorrow  and  immeasurable  shame 
seized  him,  and  self-contempt.  He  desired  death. 

"  Anulya," 1  repeated  he,  on  his  knees,  "  I  shall  not  cease 
to  bewail  thee  till  death  ;  but  what  am  I  to  do  now  ?  " 

The  white  form  gave  no  answer  to  that  as  it  vanished 
like  a  light  mist  ;•  and  instead  of  it  appeared  in  the  imagi- 
nation of  the  knight  Krysia;s  eyes  and  her  lip  covered  with 
down,  and  with  it  temptations  from  which  the  knight 
wished  to  free  himself.  So  his  heart  was  wavering  in 
uncertainty,  suffering,  and  torment.  At  moments  it  came 
to  his  head  to  go  and  confess  all  to  Zagloba,  and  take 
counsel  of  that  man  whose  reason  could  settle  all  difficul- 
ties. And  he  had  foreseen  everything  ;  he  had  told  before- 
hand what  it  was  to  enter  into  '''friendship"  with  fail- 
heads.  But  just  that  view  restrained  the  little  knight.  He 
recollected  how  sharply  he  had  called  to  Pan  Zagloba, 
"  Do  not  offend  Panna  Krysia,  sir ! "  And  now,  who  had 
offended  Panna  Krysia  ?  Who  was  the  man  who  had 
thought,  "  Is  it  not  best  to  leave  her  like  a  chamber-maid 
and  go  away  ?  " 

"  If  it  were  not  for  that  dear  one  up  there,  I  would  not 
hesitate  a  moment,"  thought  the  knight,  "  I  should  not  be 
tormented  at  all ;  on  the  contrary,  I  should  be  glad  in  soul 
that  I  had  tasted  such  delight."  After  a  while  he  muttered, 
"  I  would  take  it  willingly  a  hundred  times."  Seeing,  how- 
ever, that  temptations  were  flocking  around  him,  he  shook 
them  off  again  powerfully,  and  began  to  reason  in  this  way  : 
"It  is  all  over.  Since  I  have  acted  like  one  who  is  not 
desirous  of  friendship,  but  who  is  looking  for  satisfaction 
from  Cupid,  I  must  go  by  that  road,  and  tell  Krysia  to- 
morrow that  I  wish  to  marry  her.'' 

Here  he  stopped  awhile,  then  thought  further  thuswise : 
"  Through  which  declaration  the  confidence  of  to-day  will 
become  quite  proper,  and  to-morrow  I  can  permit  myself  —  " 
But  at  this  moment  he  struck  his  mouth  with  his  palm. 
Tfu!"  said  he;  "is  a  whole  chambul  of  devils  sitting 
behind  my  collar  ?  " 

But  still  he  did  not  set  aside  his  plan  of  making  the 
declaration,  thinking  to  himself  simply :  "  If  I  offend  the 
dear  dead  one,  I  can  conciliate  her  with  Masses  and  prayer ; 
by  this  I  shall  show  also  that  I  remember  her  always,  and 
will  not  cease  in  devotion.  If  people  wonder  and  laugh  at 

1  A  diminutive  of  Anna,  expressing  endearment 


PAX  MICHAEL.  83 

me  because  two  weeks  ago  I  wanted  from  sorrow  to  be  a 
monk,  and  now  have  made  a  declaration  of  love  to  another, 
the  shame  will  be  on  my  side  alone.  If  I  make  no  declara- 
tion, the  innocent  Krysia  will  have  to  share  my  shame  and 
my  fault.  I  will  propose  to  her  to-morrow  ;  it  cannot  be 
otherwise,"  said  he,  at  last. 

He  calmed  himself  then  considerably ;  and  when  he  had 
repeated  "  Our  Father,"  and  prayed  earnestly  for  Anusia, 
he  fell  asleep.  In  the  morning,  when  he  woke,  he  repeated, 
'•  I  will  propose  to-day."  But  it  was  not  so  easy  to  propose, 
for  Pan  Michael  did  not  wish  to  inform  others,  but  to  talk 
with  Krysia  first,  and  then  act  as  was  proper.  Meanwhile 
Pan  Adam  arrived  in  the  early  morning,  and  filled  the 
whole  house  with  his  presence. 

Krysia  went  about  as  if  poisoned ;  the  whole  day  -she 
was  pale,  worried,  sometimes  dropped  her  eyes,  sometimes 
blushed  so  that  the  color  went  to  her  neck ;  at  times  her 
lips  quivered  as  if  she  were  going  to  cry ;  then  again  she 
was  as  if  dreamy  and  languid.  It  was  difficult  for  the., 
knight  to  approach  her,  and  especially  to  remain  long  alone 
with  her.  It  is  true  he  might  have  taken  her  to  walk,  for 
the  weather  was  wonderful,  and  some  time  before  he  would 
have  done  so  without  any  scruple ;  but  now  he  dared  not, 
for  it  seemed  to  him  that  all  would  divine  on  the  spot  what 
his  object  was,  —  all  would  think  he  was  going  to  propose. 

Pan  Adam  saved  him.  He  took  Pani  Makovetski  aside, 
conversed  with  her  a  good  while  touching  something,  then 
both  returned  to  the  room  in  which  the  little  knight  was 
sitting  with  the  two  young  ladies  and  Pan  Zagloba,  and 
said,  "  You  young  people  might  have  a  ride  in  two  sleighs, 
for  the  snow  is  sparkling." 

At  this  Pan  Michael  inclined  quickly  to  Krysia's  ear  and 
said,  "  I  beg  you  to  sit  with  me.  I  have  a  world  of  things 
to  say." 

"  Very  well,"  answered  Krysia. 

Then  the  two  men  hastened  to  the  stables,  followed  by 
Basia ;  and  in  the  space  of  a  few  "  Our  Fathers,"  the  two 
sleighs  were  driven  up  before  the  house.  Pan  Michael  and 
Krysia  took  their  places  in  one,  Pan  Adam  and  the  little 
haiduk  in  the  other,  and  moved  on  without  drivers. 

When  they  had  gone,  Pani  Makovetski  turned  to  Zagloba 
and  said,  "  Pan  Adam  has  proposed  for  Basia." 

"  How  is  that  ?  "  asked  Zagloba,  alarmed. 

"  His  godmother,  the  wife  of  the  chamberlain  of  Lvoff, 


84  PAN  MICHAEL. 

is  to  come  here  to-morrow  to  talk  with  me  ;  Pan  Adam  him- 
self has  begged  of  me  permission  to  talk  with  Basia,  even 
hintingly,  for  he  understands  himself  that  if  Basia  is  not 
his  friend,  the  trouble  and  pains  will  be  useless." 

"  It  was  for  this  that  you,  my  benefactress,  sent  them 
sleigh-riding  ?  " 

"  For  this.  My  husband  is  very  scrupulous.  More  than 
once  he  has  said  to  me,  'I  will  guard  their  property,  but 
let  each  choose  a  husband  for  herself ;  if  he  is  honorable, 
I  will  not  oppose,  even  in  case  of  inequality  of  property.' 
Moreover,  they  are  of  mature  years  and  can  give  advice  to 
themselves." 

"  But  what  answer  do  you  think  of  giving  Pan  Adam's 
godmother  ?  " 

"•My  husband  will  come  in  May.  I  will  turn  the  affair 
over  to  him;  but  I  think  this  way, — as  Basia  wishes,  so 
will  it  be." 

"  Pan  Adam  is  a  stripling !  " 

»  "  But  Michael  himself  says  that  he  is  a  famous  soldier, 
noted  already  for  deeds  of  valor.  He  has  a  respectable 
property,  and  his  godmother  has  recounted  to  me  all  his 
relations.  You  see,  it  is  this  way :  his  great-grandfather 
was  born  of  Princess  Senyut ;  he  was  married  the  first 
time  to  —  " 

"  But  what  do  I  care  for  his  relations  ? "  interrupted 
Zagloba,  not  hiding  his  ill-humor  ;  "  he  is  neither  brother 
nor  godfather  to  me,  and  I  tell  your  ladyship  that  I  have 
predestined  the  little  haiduk  to  Michael ; .  for  if  among 
maidens  who  walk  the  world  on  two  feet  there  is  one 
better  or  more  honest  than  she,  may  I  from  this  moment 
begin  to  walk  on  all-four  like  a  bear ! " 

"  Michael  is  thinking  of  nothing  yet ;  and  even  if  he  were, 
Krysia  has  struck  his  eye  more.  Ah !  God,  whose  ways  are 
inscrutable,  will  decide  this." 

"  But  if  that  bare-lipped  youngster  goes  away  with 
a  water-melon,1  I  shall  be  drunk  with  delight,"  added 
Zagloba. 

Meanwhile  in  the  two  sleighs  the  fates  of  both  knights 
were  in  the  balance.  Pan  Michael  was  unable  to  utter  a 
word  for  a  long  time  ;  at  last  he  said  to  Krysia,  "  Do  not 
think  that  I  am  a  frivolous  man,  or  some  kind  of  fop,  for 
not  such  are  my  years." 

1  To  place  a  water-melon  in  the  carriage  of  a  suitor  was  one  way  of 
refusing  him. 


PAN   MICHAKL.  85 

Krysia  made  no  answer. 

"  Forgive  me  for  what  I  did  yesterday,  for  it  was  from 
the  good  feeling  which  I  have  for  you,  which  is  so  great 
that  I  was  altogether  unable  to  restrain  it.  My  gracious 
lady,  my  beloved  Krysia,  consider  who  I  am  ;  I  am  a  simple 
soldier,  whose  life  has  been  passed  in  wars.  Another  would 
have  prepared  an  oration  beforehand,  and  then  come  to  con- 
lidence ;  I  have  begun  with  confidence.  Remember  this 
also,  that  if  a  horse,  though  trained,  takes  the  bit  in  his 
teeth  and  runs  away  with  a  man,  why  should  not  love, 
whose  force  is  greater,  run  away  with  him  ?  Love  carried 
me  away,  simply  because  you  are  dear  to  me.  My  beloved 
Krysia,  "you.  are  worthy  of  castellans  and  senators  ;  but  if 
you  do  not  disdain  a  soldier,  who,  though  in  simple  rank, 
has  served  the  country  not  without  some  glory,  I  fall  at 
your  feet,  I  kiss  your  feet,  and  I  ask,  do  you  wish  me  ? 
Can  you  think  of  me  without  repulsion  ?  " 

"  Pan  Michael  !  "  answered  Krysia.  And  her  hand,  drawn 
from  her  muff,  hid  itself  in  the  hand  of  the  knight. 

"  Do  you  consent  ?  "  asked  Volodyovski. 

"  I  do ! "  answered  Krysia ;  "  and  I  know  that  I  could  not 
find  a  more  honorable  man  in  all  Poland." 

"  God  reward  you !  God  reward  you,  Krysia !  "  said  the 
knight,  covering  the  hand  with  kisses.  "  A  greater  hap- 
piness could  not  meet  me.  Only  tell  me  that  you  are  not 
angry  at  yesterday's  confidence,  so  that  I  may  find  relief  of 
conscience." 

"  I  am  not  angry." 

"  Oh  that  I  could  kiss  your  feet !  "  cried  Pan  Michael. 

They  remained  some  time  in  silence  ;  the  runners  were 
whistling  on  the  snow,  and  snowballs  were  flying  from  under 
the  horse's  feet.  Then  Pan  Michael  said,  "  I  marvel  that 
you  regard  me." 

"  It  is  more  wonderful,"  answered  Krysia,  "  that  you 
(•.unit;  to  love  me  so  quickly." 

At  this  Pan  Michael's  face  grew  very  serious,  and  he 
said,  "It  may  seem  ill  to  you  that  before  I  shook  off  sorrow 
for  one,  I  fell  in  love  with  another.  I  own  to  you  also,  as 
if  I  were  at  confession,  that  in  my  time  I  have  been  giddy ; 
but  now  it  is  different.  I  have  not  forgotten  that  dear  one, 
and  shall  never  forget  her ;  I  love  her  yet,  and  if  you 
knew  how  much  I  weep  for  her,  you  would  weep  over 
me  yourself." 

Here  voice  failed  the  little  knight,  for  he  was  greatly 


86  PAN   MICHAEL. 

moved,  and  perhaps  for  that  reason  he  did  not  notice  that 
these  words  did  not  seeni  to  make  a  very  deep  impression 
on  Krysja. 

Silence  followed  again,  interrupted  this  time  by  the  lady; 
"  I  will  try  to  comfort  you,  as  far  as  my  strength  permits." 

"I  loved  you  so  soon,"  said  Pan  Michael,  "because  you 
began  from  the  first  day  to  cure  my  wounds.  What  was  I 
to  you  ?  Nothing  !  But  you  began  at  once,  because  you  had 
pity  in  your  heart  for  an  unfortunate.  Ah  !  I  am  thankful 
to  you,  greatly  thankful !  Who  does  not  know  this  will 
perhaps  reproach  me,  since  I  wished  to  be  a  monk  in 
November,  and  am  preparing  for  marriage  in  December. 
First,  Pan  Zagloba  will  be  ready  to  jeer,  for  he  is  glad  to 
do  that  when  occasion  offers ;  but  let  the  man  jeer  who  is 
able !  I  do  not  care  about  that,  especially  since  the 
reproach  will  not  fall  on  you,  but  on  me." 

Krysia  began  to  look  at  the  sky  thoughtfully,  and  said  at 
last,  "  Must  we  absolutely  tell  people  of  our  engagement  ?  " 

"  What  is  your  meaning  ?  " 

"  You  are  going  away,  it  seems,  in  a  couple  of  days  ?  " 

"Even  against  my  will,  I  must  go." 

"  I  am  wearing  mourning  for  my  father.  Why  should  we 
exhibit  ourselves  to  the  gaze  of  people  ?  Let  our  engage- 
ment remain  between  ourselves,  and  people  need  not  know 
of  it  till  you  return  from  Russia.  Are  you  satisfied  ?  " 

"  Then  I  am  to  say  nothing  to  my  sister  ?  " 

"  I  will  tell  her  myself,  but  after  you  have  gone." 

"  And  to  Pan  Zagloba  ?  " 

"  Pan  Zagloba  would  sharpen  his  wit  on  me.  Ei,  better 
say  nothing !  Basia  too  would  tease  me ;  and  she  these 
last  days  is  so  whimsical  and  has  such  changing  humor  as 
never  before.  Better  say  nothing."  Here  Krysia  raised 
her  dark-blue  eyes  to  the  heavens  :  "  God  is  the  witness 
above  us ;  let  people  remain  uninformed." 

"  I  see  that  your  wit  is  equal  to  your  beauty.  I  agree. 
Then  God  is  our  witness.  Amen !  Now  rest  your  shoulder 
on  me ;  for  as  soon  as  our  contract  is  made,  modesty  is  not 
opposed  to  that.  Have  no  fear!  Even  if  I  wished  to 
repeat  yesterday's  act,  I  cannot,  for  I  must  take  care  of 
the  horse." 

Krysia  gratified  the  knight,  and  he  said,  "  As  often  as 
we  are  alone,  call  me  by  name  only." 

"  Somehow  it  does  not  fit,"  said  she,  with  a  smile.  "  I 
never  shall  dare  to  do  that." 


PAN   MICHAEL.  87 

"  But  I  have  dared." 

"  For  Pan  Michael  is  a  knight,  Pan  Michael  is  daring, 
Pan  Michael  is  a  soldier." 

"  Krysia,  you  are  my  love  ! " 

"  Mich  — "  But  Krysia  had  not  courage  to  finish,  and 
covered  her  face  with  her  muff. 

After  a  while  Pan  Michael  returned  to  the  house ;  they 
did  not  converse  much  on  the  road,  but  at  the  gate  the 
little  knight  asked  again,  "But  after  yesterday's  —  you 
understand  —  were  you  very  sad  ?  " 

"  Oh,  I  was  ashamed  and  sad,  but  had  a  wonderful  feel- 
ing," added  she,  in  a  lower  voice. 

All  at  once  they  put  on  a  look  of  indifference,  so  that  no 
one  might  see  what  had  passed  between  them.  But  that 
was  a  needless  precaution,  for  no  one  paid  heed  to  them. 
It  is  true  that  Zagloba  and  Pan  Michael's  sister  ran  out  to 
meet  the  two  couples,  but  their  eyes  were  turned  only  on 
Basia  and  Pan  Adam. 

Basia  was  red,  certainly,  but  it  was  unknown  whether  from 
cold  or  emotion ;  and  Pan  Adam  was  as  if  poisoned.  Imme- 
diately after,  too,  he  took  farewell  of  the  lady  of  the  house. 
In  vain  did  she  try  to  detain  him  ;  in  vain  Pan  Michael 
himself  tried  to  persuade  him  to  remain  to  supper :  he 
excused  himself  with  service  and  went  away.  That  moment 
Pan  Michael's  sister,  without  saying  a  word,  kissed  Basia 
on  the  forehead  ;  the  young  lady  flew  to  her  own  chamber 
and  did  not  return  to  supper. 

Only  on  the  next  day  did  Zagloba  make  a  direct  attack 
on  her  and  inquire,  "  Well,  little  haiduk,  a  thunderbolt,  as 
it  were,  struck  Pan  Adam  ?  " 

"  Aha!"  answered  she,  nodding  affirmatively  and  blinking. 

<c  Tell  me  what  you  said  to  him." 

"  The  question  was  quick,  for  he  is  daring ;  but  so  was 
the  answer,  for  I  too  am  daring.  Is  it  not  true  ?  " 

"  You  acted  splendidly  !  Let  me  embrace  you  !  What 
did  he  say  ?  Did  he  let  himself  be  beaten  off  easily  ?  " 

"  He  asked  if  with  time  he  could  not  effect  something. 
I  was  sorry  for  him,  but  no,  no;  nothing  can  come  of 
that ! " 

Here  Basia,  distending  her  nostrils,  began  to  shake  her 
forelock  somewhat  sadly,  as  if  in  thought. 

"  Tell  me  your  reasons,"  said  Zagloba. 

"  He  too  wanted  them,  but  it  was  of  no  use ;  I  did  not  tell 
him,  and  I  will  tell  no  man." 


88  PAN  MICHAEL. 

"But  perhaps,"  said  Zagloba,  looking  quickly  into  her 
eyes,  "  you  bear  some  hidden  love  in  your  heart.  Hei  ?  " 

"  A  fig  for  love  !  "  cried  Basia.  And  springing  from  the 
place,  she  began  to  repeat  quickly,  as  if  wishing  to  cover 
her  confusion,  "  I  do  not  want  Pan  Adam  !  I  do  not  want 
Pan  Adam  !  1  do  not  want  any  one  !  Why  do  you  plague 
me  ?  Why  do  you  plague  me,  all  of  you  ? "  And  on  a 
sudden  she  burst  into  tears. 

Zagloba  comforted  her  as  best  he  could,  but  during  the 
whole  day  she  was  gloomy  and  peevish.  "  Michael,"  said 
he  at  dinner,  "  you  are  going,  and  Ketling  will  come  soon  ; 
he  is  a  beauty  above  beauties.  I  know  not  how  these 
young  ladies  will  defend  themselves,  but  I  think  this,  when 
you  come  back,  you  will  find  them  both  dead  in  love. " 

"  Profit  for  us  !  "  said  Volodyovski.  "  We  '11  give  him 
Panna  Basia  at  once." 

Basia  fixed  on  him  the  look  of  a  wild-cat  and  said,  "  But 
why  are  you  less  concerned  about  Krysia  ?  " 

The  little  knight  was  confused  beyond  measure  at  these 
words,  and  said,  "  You  do  not  know  Ketliug's  power,  but 
you  will  discover  it.". 

"  But  why  should  not  Krysia  discover  it  ?  Besides,  it  is 
not  I  who  sing,  — 

'  The  fair  head  grows  faint ; 
Where  will  she  hide  herself  1 
How  will  the  poor  thing  defend  herself  ?  '  " 

Xow  Krysia  was  confused  in  her  turn,  and  the  little 
wasp  continued,  "  In  extremities  I  will  ask  Pan  Adam  to 
lend  me  his  shield ;  but  when  you  go  away,  I  know  not 
with  what  Krysia  will  defend  herself,  if  peril  comes  on 
her." 

Pan  Michael  had  now  recovered,  and  answered  somewhat 
severely,  "  Perhaps  she  will  find  wherewith  to  defend  her- 
self better  than  you." 

"  How  so  ?  " 

"For  she  is  less  giddy,  and  has  more  sedateness  and 
dignity." 

Pan  Zagloba  and  the  little  knight's  sister  thought  that 
the  keen  haiduk  would  come  to  battle  at  once  ;  but  to  their 
great  amazement,  she  dropped  her  head  toward  the  plate, 
and  after  a  while  said,  in  a  low  voice,  "  If  you  are  angry, 
I  ask  pardon  of  you  and  of  Krysia." 


PAN  MICHAEL.  89 


CHAPTER   XIL 

As  Pan  Michael  had  permission  to  set  out  whenever  he 
wished,  he  went  to  Anusia's  grave  at  Chenstohova.  After  he 
had  shed  the  last  of  his  tears  there,  he  journeyed  on  farther ; 
and  under  the  influence  of  fresh  reminiscences  it  occurred 
to  him  that  the  secret  engagement  with  Krysia  was  in  some 
way  too  early.  He  felt  that  in  sorrow  and  mourning  there 
is  something  sacred  and  inviolable,  which  should  not  be 
touched,  but  permitted  to  rise  heavenward  like  a  cloud, 
and  vanish  in  measureless  space.  Other  men,  it  is  true, 
after  losing  their  wives,  had  married  in  a  month  or  in  two 
months  ;  but  they  had  not  begun  with  the  cloister,  nor  had 
misfortune  met  them  at  the  threshold  of  happiness  after 
whole  years  of  waiting.  But  even  if  men  of  common  mould 
do  not  respect  the  sacredness  of  sorrow,  is  it  proper  to 
follow  their  example  ? 

Pan  Michael  journeyed  forward  then  toward  Russia,  and 
reproaches  went  with  him.  But  he  was  so  just  that  he  took 
all  the  blame  on  himself,  and  did  not  put  any  on  Krysia; 
and  to  the  many  alarms  which  seized  him  was  added  this 
also,  would  not  Krysia  in  the  depth  of  her  soul  take  that 
haste  ill  of  him  ? 

"  Surely  she  would  not  act  thus  in  my  place,"  said  Pan 
Michael  to  himself;  "and  having  a  lofty  soul  herself, 
beyond  doubt,  she  seeks  loftiness  in  others." 

Fear  seized  the  little  knight  lest  he  might  seem  to  her 
petty ;  but  that  was  vain  fear.  Krysia  cared  nothing  for 
I'an  Michael's  mourning;  and  when  he  spoke  to  her  too 
much  concerning  it,  not  only  did  it  not  excite  sympathy  in 
the  lady,  but  it  roused  her  self-love.  Was  not  she,  the 
living  woman,  equal  to  the  dead  one  ?  Or,  in  general,  was 
she  of  such  small  worth  that  the  dead  Anusia  could  be  her 
rival  ?  If  Zagloba  had  been  in  the  secret,  he  would  have 
pacified  Pan  Michael  certainly,  by  saying  that  women  have 
not  over-much  mercy  for  one  another. 

After  Volodyovski's  departure,  Panna  Krysia  was  aston- 
ished not  a  little  at  what  had  happened,  and  at  this,  that  the 
latch  had  fallen.  In  going  from  the  Ukraine  to  Warsaw, 


90  PAN  MICHAEL. 

where  she  had  never  been  before,  she  had  imagined  that  it 
would  be  different  altogether.  At  the  Diet  of  Convocation 
the  escorts  of  bishops  and  dignitaries  would  meet ;  a  bril- 
liant knighthood  would  assemble  from  all  sides  of  the 
Commonwealth.  How  many  amusements  and  reviews 
would  there  be,  how  much  bustle  !  and  in  all  that  whirl, 
in  the  concourse  of  knights,  would  appear  some  unknown 
"he,"  some  knight  such  as  maidens  see  only  in  dreams. 
This  knight  would  flush  up  with  love,  appear  under  her 
windows  with  a  lute ;  he  would  form  cavalcades,  love  and 
sigh  a  long  time,  wear  on  his  armor  the  knot  of-  his  loved 
one,  suffer  and  overcome  obstacles  before  he  would  fall 
at  her  feet  and  win  mutual  love. 

But  nothing  of  all  that  had  come  to  pass.  The  haze, 
changing  and  colored,  like  a  rainbow,  vanished  ;  a  knight 
appeared,  it  is  true,  —  a  knight  not  at  all  common,  heralded 
as  the  first  soldier  of  the  Commonwealth,  a  great  cavalier, 
but  not  much,  or  indeed,  not  at  all,  like  that  "he."  There 
were  no  cavalcades  either,  nor  playing  of  lutes,  nor  tourna- 
ments, nor  the  knot  on  the  armor,  nor  bustle,  nor  games,  nor 
any  of  all  that  which  rouses  curiosity  like  a  May  dream, 
or  a  wonderful  tale  in  the  evening,  which  intoxicates  like 
the  odor  of  flowers,  which  allures  as  bait  does  a  bird ;  from 
which  the  face  flushes,  the  heart  throbs,  the  body  trembles. 
There  was  nothing  but  a  small  house  outside  the  city ;  in 
the  house  Pan  Michael ;  then  intimacy  grew  up,  and  the 
rest  of  the  vision  disappeared  as  the  moon  disappears  in 
the  sky  when  clouds  come  and  hide  it.  If  that  Pan 
Michael  had  appeared  at  the  end  of  the  story,  lie  would  be 
the  desired  one.  More  than  once,  when  thinking  of  his 
fame,  of  his  worth,  of  his  valor,  which  made  him  the  glory 
of  the  Commonwealth  and  the  terror  of  its  enemies,  Krysia 
felt  that,  in  spite  of  all,  she  loved  him  greatly  ;  only  it 
seemed  to  her  that  something  had  missed  her,  that  a  certain 
injustice  had  met  her,  a  little  through  him,  or  rather  through 
haste.  That  haste,  therefore,  had  fallen  into  the  hearts  of 
both  like  a  grain  of  sand ;  and  since  both  were  farther  and 
farther  from  each  other,  that  grain  began  to  pain  them 
somewhat.  It  happens"  frequently  that  something  insignifi- 
cant as  a  little  thorn  pricks  the  feelings  of  people,  and  in 
time  either  heals  or  festers  more  and  more,  and  brings 
bitterness  and  pain,  even  to  the  greatest  love.  But  in  this 
case  it  was  still  far  to  pain  and  bitterness.  For  Pan 
Michael,  the  thought  of  Krysia  was  especially  agreeable 


PAN   MICHAEL.  91 

and  soothing ;  and  the  thought  of  her  followed  him  as  his 
shadow  follows  a  man.  He  thought  too  that  the  farther  he 
went,  the  dearer  she  would  become  to  him,  and  the  more  he 
would  sigh  and  yearn  for  her.  The  time  passed  more 
heavily  for  her;  for  no  one  visited  Ketling's  house  since 
the  departure  of  the  little  knight,  and  day  followed  day 
in  monotony  and  weariness. 

Pani  Makovetski  counted  the  days  before  the  election, 
waited  for  her  husband,  and  talked  only  of  him ;  Basia  had 
put  on  a  very  long  face.  Zagloba  reproached  her,  saying 
that  she  had  rejected  Pan  Adam  and  was  then  wishing  for 
him.  In  fact,  she  would  have  been  glad  if  even  he  had 
come  ;  but  Novoveski  said  to  himself,  "There  is  nothing  for 
me  there,"  and  soon  he  followed  Pan  Michael.  Zagloba  too 
was  preparing  to  return  to  Pan  Yan's,  saying  that  he  wished 
to  see  his  boys.  Still,  being  heavy,  he  put  off  his  journey 
day  after  day ;  he  explained  to  Basia  that  she  was  the  cause 
of  his  delay,  that  he  was  in  love  with  her  and  intended  to 
seek  her  hand.  Meanwhile  he  kept  company  with  Krysia 
when  Pan  Michael's  sister  went  with  Basia  to  visit  the  wife 
of  the  chamberlain  of  Lvoff.  Krysia  never  accompanied 
them  in  those  visits  ;  for  the  lady,  notwithstanding  her 
worthiness,  could  not  endure  Krysia.  Frequently  and 
often  too  Zagloba  went  to  Warsaw,  where  he  met  pleasant 
company  and  returned  more  than  once  tipsy  on  the  follow- 
ing day ;  and  then  Krysia  was  entirely  alone,  passing  the 
dreary  hours  in  thinking  a  little  of  Pan  Michael,  a  little  of 
what  might  happen  if  that  latch  had  not  fallen  once  and 
forever,  and  often,  what  did  that  unknown  rival  of  Pan 
Michael  look  like,  —  the  King's  son  in  the  fairy  tale  ? 

Once  Krysia  was  sitting  by  the  window  and  looking  in 
tlioughtfulness  at  the  door  of  the  room,  on  which  a  very 
bright  gleam  of  the  setting  sun  was  falling,  when  suddenly 
a  sleigh-bell  was  heard  on  the  other  side  of  the  house.  It 
ran  through  Krysia's  head  that  Pani  Makovetski  and  Basia 
must  have  returned ;  but  that  did  not  bring  her  out  of 
meditation,  and  she  did  not  even  withdraw  her  eyes  from 
the  door.  Meanwhile  the  door  opened ;  and  on  the  back- 
ground of  the  dark  depth  beyond  appeared  to  the  eyes  of 
the  maiden  some  unknown  man. 

At  the  first  moment  it  seemed  to  Krysia  that  she  saw  a 
picture,  or  that  she  had  fallen  asleep  and  was  dreaming, 
such  a  wonderful  vision  stood  before  her.  The  unknown 
was  young,  dressed  in  black  foreign  costume,  with  a  white 


92  PAN  MICHAEL. 

lace  collar  coming  to  his  shoulders.  Once  in  childhood 
Krysia  had  seen  Pan  Artsishevski,  general  of  the  artillery 
of  the  kingdom,  dressed  in  such  a  costume ;  by  reason  of 
the  dress,  as  well  AS  of  his  unusual  beauty,  the  general  had 
remained  long  in  her  memory.  Now,  that  young  man  before 
her  was  dressed  in  like  fashion ;  but  in  beauty  he  surpassed 
Pan  Artsishevski  and  all  men  walking  the  earth.  His  hair, 
cut  evenly  over  his  forehead,  fell  in  bright  curls  on  both 
sides  of  his  face,  just  marvellously.  He  had  dark  brows, 
definitely  outlined  on  a  forehead  white  .'is  marble  ;  eyes 
mild  and  melancholy ;  a  yellow  mustacho  and  a  yellow, 
pointed  beard.  It  was  an  incomparable  head,  in  which 
nobility  was  united  to  maufulness,  —  the  head  at  once  of  an 
angel  and  a  warrior.  Krysia's  breath  was  stopped  in  her 
breast,  for  looking,  she  did  not  believe  her  own  eyes,  nor 
could  she  decide  whether  she  had  before  her  an  illusion  or 
a  real  man.  He  stood  awhile  motionless,  astonished,  or 
through  politeness  feigning  astonishment  at  Krysia;  at  last 
he  moved  from  the  door,  and  waving  his  hat  downward 
began  to  sweep  the  floor  with  its  plumes.  Krysia  rose,  but 
her  feet  trembled  under  her ;  and  now  blushing,  now  grow- 
ing pale,  she  closed  her  eyes. 

Meanwhile  his  voice  sounded  low  and  soft,  "  I  am  Ketling 
of  Elgin,  —  the  friend  and  companion-at-arms  of  Pan  Volo- 
dyovski.  The  servant  has  told  me  already  that  I  have  the 
unspeakable  happiness  and  honor  to  receive  as  guests  under 
my  roof  the  sister  and  relatives  of  my  Pallas  ;  but  pardon, 
worthy  lady,  my  confusion,  for  the  servant  told  me  nothing 
of  what  my  eyes  see,  and  my  eyes  are  overcome  by  the 
brightness  of  your  presence." 

With  such  a  compliment  did  the  knightly  Ketling  greet 
Krysia;  but  she  did  not  repay  him  in  like  manner,  for  she 
could  not  find  a  single  word.  She  thought  only  that  when 
he  had  finished,  he  would  incline  surely  a  second  time,  for 
in  the  silence  she  heard  again  the  rustle  of  plumes  on  the 
floor.  She  felt  also  that  there  was  need,  urgent  need,  to 
make  some  answer  and  return  compliment  for  compliment, 
otherwise  she  might  be  held  a  simple  woman;  but  mean- 
while her  breath  fails  her,  the  pulse  is  throbbing  in  her  hands 
and  her  temples,  her  breast  rises  and  falls  as  if  she  were 
suffering  greatly.  She  opens  her  eyelids  ;  he  stands  before 
her  with  head  inclined  somewhat,  with  admiration  and 
respect  in  his  wonderful  face.  With  trembling  hand  Krysia 
seizes  her  robe  to  make  even  a  courtesy  before  the  cavalier ; 


PAN  MICHAEL.  93 

fortunately,  at  that  moment  cries  of  "Ketling!  Ketling!" 
are  heard  behind  the  door,  and  into  the  room  rushes,  with 
open  arms:,  the  panting  Zagloba. 

The  two  men  embraced  each  other  then  ;  and  during  that 
time  the  young  lady  tried  to  recover,  and  to  look  two  or 
three  times  at  the  knight.  Pie  embraced  Zagloba  heartily, 
but  with  that  unusual  elegance  in  every  movement  which 
he  had  either  inherited  from  his  ancestors  or  acquired  at 
the  refined  courts  of  kings  and  magnates. 

"  How  are  you  ?  "  cried  Zagloba.  "  I  am  as  glad  to  see 
you  in  your  house  as  in  my  own.  Let  me  look  at  you. 
Ah,  you  have  grown  thin  !  Is  it  not  some  love-affair  ?  As 
God  lives,  you  have  grown  thin.  Do  you  know,  Michael 
h^s  gone  to  the  squadron?  Oh,  you  have  done  splendidly 
to  come !  Michael  thinks  no  more  of  the  cloister.  His 
sister  is  living  here  with  two  young  ladies,  —  maidens  like 
turnips  !  Oh,  for  God's  sake,  Panna  Krysia  is  here  !  I  beg 
pardon  for  my  words,  but  let  that  man's  eyes  crawl  out  who 
denies  beauty  to  either  of  you ;  this  cavalier  has  seen  it 
already  in  3-0111-  case." 

Ketling  inclined  his  head  a  third  time,  and  said  with  a 
smile,  "  I  left  the  house  a  barrack  and  find  it  Olympus ; 
for  I  see  a  goddess  at  the  entrance." 

"  Ketling  !  how  are  you  ?  "  cried  a  second  time  Zagloba, 
for  whom  one  greeting  was  too  little,  and  he  seized  him  again 
in  his  arms.  "  Never  mind,"  said  he,  "  you  have  n't  seen  the 
haiduk  yet.  One  is  a  beauty,  but  .the  other  is  honey  ! 
How  are  you,  Ketling  ?  God  give  you  health  !  I  will  talk 
to  you.  It  is  you ;  very  good.  That  is  a  delight  to  this 
old  man.  You  are  glad  of  your  guests.  Pani  Makovetski 
has  come  here,  for  it  was  difficult  to  find  lodgings  in  the 
time  of  the  Diet ;  but  now  it  is  easier,  and  she  will  go  out, 
of  course,  for  it  is  not  well  for  young  ladies  to  lodge  in  a 
single  man's  house,  lest  people  might  look  awry,  and  some 
gossip  might  come  of  the  matter." 

"  For  God's  sake !  I  will  never  permit  that !  I  am  to 
Volodyovski  not  a  friend,  but  a  brother ;  and  I  may  receive 
Pani  Makovetski  as  a  sister  under  my  roof.  To  you,  young 
lady,  I  shall  turn  for  assistance,  and  if  necessary  will  beg 
it  here  on  my  knees." 

Saying  this,  Ketling  knelt  before  Krysia,  and  seizing  her 
hand,  pressed  it  to  his  lips  and  looked  into  her  eyes  implor- 
ingly, joyously,  and  at  the  same  time  pensively  ;  she  began 
to  blush,  especially  as  Zagloba  cried  out  straightway,  "  He 


94  PAN  MICHAEL. 

has  barely  come  when  he  is  on  his  knees  before  her.  As 
God  lives  !  I  '11  tell  Pani  Makovetski  that  I  found  you  in 
that  posture.  Sharp,  Ketling !  See  what  court  customs 
are ! " 

"  I  am  not  skilled  in  court  customs,"  whispered  the  lady, 
in  great  confusion. 

"  Can  I  reckon  on  your  aid  ?  "  asked  Ketling. 

"  Rise,  sir ! " 

"  May  I  reckon  on  your  aid  ?  I  am  Pan  Michael's 
brother.  An  injury  will  be  done  him  if  this  house  is 
abandoned." 

"My  wishes  are  nothing  here,"  answered  Krysia,  with 
more  presence  of  mind,  "  though  I  must  be  grateful  for 
yours." 

"  I  thank  you !  "  answered  Ketling,  pressing  her  hand  to 
his  mouth. 

".Ah!  frost  out  of  doors,  and  Cupid  is  naked;  but  he 
would  not  freeze  in  this  house/'  said  Zagloba.  "  And  I  see 
that  from  sighs  alone  there  will  be  a  thaw,  — from  nothing 
but  sighs." 

"  Spare  us,"  said  Krysia. 

"I  thank  God  that  you  have  not  lost  your  jovial  humor," 
said  Ketling,  "for  joyousness  is  a  sign  of  health." 

"  And  a  clear  conscience,"  added  Zagloba.  " '  He  grieves 
who  is  troubled,'  declares  the  Seer  in  Holy  Writ.  Nothing 
troubles  me,  therefore  I  am  joyous.  Oh,  a  hundred  Turks  ! 
What  do  I  behold  ?  For  I  saw  you  in  Polish  costume  with 
a  lynx-skin  cap  and  a  sabre,  and  now  you  have  changed 
again  into  some  kind  of  Englishman,  and  are  going  around 
on  slim  legs  like  a  stork." 

"For  I  have  been  in  Courland,  where  the  Polish  dress  is 
not  worn,  and  have  just  passed  two  days  with  the  English 
resident  in  Warsaw." 

"  Then  you  are  returning  from  Courland  ?  " 

"  I  am.  The  relative  who  adopted  me  has  died,  and  left 
me  another  estate  there." 

"  Eternal  repose  to  him !     He  was  a  Catholic,  of  course  ?  " 

"  He  was." 

"  You  have  this  consolation  at  least.  But  you  will  not 
leave  us  for  this  property  in  Courland  ?  " 

"  I  will  live  and  die  here,"  answered  Ketling,  looking  at 
Krysia;  and  at  once  she  dropped  her  long  lashes  on  her 
eyes. 

Pani  Makovetski  arrived  when  it  was  quite  dark ;  and 


PAN  MICHAEL.  95 

Ketling  went  outside  the  gate  to  meet  her.  He  conducted 
the  lady  to  his  house  with  as  much  homage  as  if  she  had 
been  a  reigning  princess.  She  wished  on  the  following  day 
to  seek  other  quarters  in  the  city  itself ;  but  her  resolve  was 
ineffective.  The  young  knight  implored,  dwelt  on  his 
brotherhood  with  Pan  Michael,  and  knelt  until  she  agreed 
to  stay  with  him  longer.  It  was  merely  stipulated  that  Pan 
Zagloba  should  remain  some  time  yet,  to  shield  the  ladies 
with  his  age  and  dignity  from  evil  tongues.  He  agreed 
willingly,  for  he  had  becouie  attached  beyond  measure  to 
the  haiduk ;  and  besides,  he  had  begun  to  arrange  in  his 
head  certain  plans  which  demanded  his  presence  absolutely. 
The  maidens  were  both  glad,  and  Basia  came  out  at  once 
openly  on  Ketling's  side. 

"  We  will  not  move  out  to-day,  anyhow,"  said  she  to  Pan 
Michael's  hesitating  sister ;  "-and  if  not,  it  is  all  the  same 
whether  we  stay  one  day  or  twelve.'' 

Ketling  pleased  her  as  well  as  Krysia,  for  he  pleased  all 
women  ;  besides,  Basia  had  never  seen  a  foreign  cavalier, 
except  officers  of  foreign  infantry,  —  men  of  small  rank  and 
rather  common  persons.  Therefore  she  walked  around  him, 
shaking  her  forelock,  dilating  her  nostrils,  and  looking  at 
him  with  a  childlike  curiosity ;  so  importunate  was  she 
that  at  last  she  heard  the  censure  of  Pani  Makovetski. 
But  in  spite  of  the  censure,  she  did  not  cease  to  investigate 
him  with  her  eyes,  as  if  wishing  -to  fix  his  military  value, 
and  at  last  she  turned  to  Pan  Zagloba. 

"  Is  he  a  great  .soldier  ?  "  asked  she  of  the  old  man  in  a 
whisper. 

"Yes;  so  that  he  cannot  be  more  celebrated.  You  see 
he  has  immense  experience,  for,  remaining  in  the  true  faith, 
he  served  against  the  English  rebels  from  his  fourteenth 
year.  He  is  a  noble  also  of  high  birth,  which  is  easily  seen 
from  his  manners." 

"  Have  you  seen  him  under  fire  ?  " 

"  A  thousand  times  !  He  would  halt  for  you  in  it  with- 
out a  frown,  pat  his  horse  on  the  shoulder,  and  be  ready  to 
talk  of  love." 

"  Is  it  the  fashion  to  talk  of  love  at  such  a  time  ?     Hei  ?  " 

"  It  is  the  fashion  to  do  everything  by  which  contempt 
for  bullets  is  shown." 

"  But  hand  to  hand,  in  a  duel,  is  he  equally  great  ?  " 

"  Yes,  yes  !  a  wasp ;  it  is  not  to  be  denied." 

"But  could  he  stand  before  Pan  Michael  ?" 


96  PAN  MICHAEL. 

"  Before  Michael  he  could  not !  " 

"  Ha! "  exclaimed  Basia,  with  joyous  pride,  "  I  knew  that 
he  could  not.  I  thought  at  once  that  he  could  not."  And 
she  began  to  clap  her  hands. 

"  So,  then,  do  you  take  Pan  Michael's  side  ? "  asked 
Zagloba. 

Basia  shook  her  forelock  and  was  silent ;  after  a  while  a 
quiet  sigh  raised  her  breast.  "  Ei !  what  of  that  ?  I  am 
glad,  for  he  is  ours." 

"  But  think  of  this,  and  beat  it  into  yourself,  little  haiduk," 
said  Zagloba,  "that  if  on  the  field  of  battle  it  is  hard  to 
find  a  better  man  than  Ketling,  he  is  most  dangerous  for 
maidens,  who  love  him  madly  for  his  beauty.  He  is  trained 
famously  in  love-making  too." 

"  Tell  that  to  Krysia,  for  love  is  not  in  my  head," 
answered  Basia,  and  turning"  to  Krysia,  she  began  to  call, 
"Krysia!  Krysia!  Come  here  just  for  a  word." 

"  I  am  here,"  said  Krysia. 

"  Pan  Zagloba  says  that  no  lady  looks  on  Ketling  without 
falling  in  love  straightway.  1  have  looked  at  him  from 
every  side,  and  somehow  nothing  has  happened ;  but  do  you 
feel  anything  ?  " 

"  Basia,  Basia !  "  said  Krysia,  in  a  tone  of  persuasion. 

"  Has  he  pleased  you,  eh  ?  " 

"  Spare  us  !  be  sedate.  My  Basia,  do  not  talk  nonsense, 
for  Ketling  is  coming." 

In  fact,  Krysia  had  not  taken  her  seat  when  Ketling 
approached  and  inquired,  "  Is  it  permitted  to  join  the 
company  ?  " 

"  We  request  you  earnestly,"  answered  Krysia. 

"  Then  I  am  bold  to  ask,  of  what  was  your  conversation  ?  " 

"  Of  love,"  cried  Basia,  without  hesitation. 

Ketling  sat  down  near  Krysia.  They  were  silent  for  a 
time ;  for  Krysia,  usually  self-possessed  and  with  presence 
of  mind,  had  in  some  wonderful  way  become  timid  in  pres- 
ence of  the  cavalier ;  hence  he  was  first  to  ask,  — 

"  Is  it  true  that  the  conversation  was  of  such  a  pleasant 
subject  ?  " 

"  It  was,"  answered  Krysia,  in  an  undertone. 

"  I  shall  be  delighted  to  hear  your  opinion." 

"  Pardon  me,  for  I  lack  courage  and  wit,  so  I  think  that 
I  should  rather  hear  something  new  from  you." 

"  Krysia  is  right,"  said  Zagloba.     "  Let  us  listen." 

"Ask  a  question,"  said  Ketling.     And  raising  his  eyes 


PAN  MICHAEL.  97 

somewhat,  he  meditated  a  little,  then,  although  no  one 
had  questioned  him,  he  began  to  speak,  as  if  to  himself : 
"Loving  is  a  grievous  misfortune ;  for  by  loving,  a  free  man 
becomes  a  captive.  Just  as  a  bird,  shot  by  an  arrow,  falls 
it  the  feet  of  the  hunter,  so  the  man  struck  by  love  has 
no  power  to  escape  from  the.  feet  of  the  loved  one.  To 
iove  is  to  be  maimed ;  for  a  man,  like  one  blind,  does  not 
see  the  world  beyond  his  love.  To  love  is  to  mourn  ;  for 
when  do  more  tears  flow,  when  do  more  sighs  swell  the 
breast  ?  When  a  man  loves,  there  are  neither  dresses  nor 
limits  in  his  head;  he  is  ready  to  sit  embracing  his  knees 
with  his  arms,  sighing  as  plaintively  as  if  he  had  lost  some 
one  near  to  him.  Love  is  an  illness ;  for  in  it,  as  in  illness, 
the  face  becomes  pale,  the  eyes  sink,  the  hands  tremble,  the 
fingers  grow  thin,  and  the  man  thinks  of  death,  or  goes 
around  in  derangement,  with  dishevelled  hair,  talks  with 
the  moon,  writes  gladly  the  cherished  name  on  the  sand, 
and  if  the  wind  blows  it  away,  he  says,  '  misfortune,'  and  is 
ready  to  sob." 

Here  Ketling  was  silent  for  a  while ;  one  would  have 
said  that  he  was  sunk  in  musing.  Krysia  listened  to  his 
words  with  her  whole  soul,  as  if  they  were  a  song.  Her 
lips  were  parted,  and  her  eyes  did  not  leave  the  pale  face  of 
the  knight.  Basia's  forelock  fell  to  her  eyes,  hence  it  could 
not  be  known  what  she  was  thinking  of;  but  she  sat  in 
silence  also. 

Then  Zagloba  yawned  loudly,  drew  a  deep  breath, 
stretched  his  legs,  and  said,  "  Give  command  to  make 
boots  for  dogs  of  such  love  ! " 

"  But  yet,"  began  the  knight,  anew,  "  if  it  is  grievous  to 
love,  it  is  more  grievous  still  not  to  love  ;  for  who  without 
love  is  satisfied  with  pleasure,  glory,  riches,  perfumes,  or 
jewels  ?  Who  will  not  say  to  the  loved  one,  '  I  choose  thee 
rather  than  a  kingdom,  than  a  sceptre,  than  health  or  long 
life '  ?  And  since  each  would  give  life  for  love  willingly, 
love  has  more  value  than  life."  Ketling  finished. 

The  young  ladies  sat  nestling  closely  to  each  other,  won- 
dering at  the  tenderness  of  his  speech  and  those  conclusions 
of  love  foreign  to  Polish  cavaliers,  till  Zagloba,  who  was 
napping  at  the  end,  woke  and  began  to  blink,  looking  now 
at  one,  now  at  another,  now  at  the  third  ;  at  last  gaining 
presence  of  mind,  he  inquired  in  a  loud  voice,  "  What  do 
you  say  ?  " 

••  We  say  good-night  to  you,"  said  Basia. 

7 


98  PAN  MICHAEL.  » 

"  Ah  !  I  know  now  we  were  talking  of  love.  What  was 
the  conclusion  ?  " 

"  The  lining  was  better  than  the  cloak." 

"  There  is  no  use  in  denying  that  I  was  drowsy ;  but  this 
loving,  weeping,  sighing —  Ah,  I  have  found  another  rhyme 
for  it,  —  namely,  sleeping,  —  and  at  this  time  the  best,  for 
the  hour  is  advanced.  Good-night  to  the  whole  company, 
and  give  us  peace  with  your  love.  0  my  God,  my  God, 
while  the  cat  is  miauwing,  she  will  not  eat  the  cheese  ; 
but  until  she  eats,  her  mouth  is  watering.  In  my  day  I 
resembled  Ketling  as  one  cup  does  another ;  and  I  was 
in  love  so  madly  that  a  ram  might  have  pounded  my  back 
for  an  hour  before  I  should  have  known  it.  But  in  old  age 
I  prefer  to  rest  well,  especially  when  a  polite  host  not  only 
conducts  me  to  bed,  but  gives  me  a  drink  on  the  pillow." 

"  I  am  at  the  service  of  your  grace,"  said  Ketling. 

"  Let  us  go ;  let  us  go !  See  how  high  the  moon  is 
already.  It  will  be  fine  to-morrow;  it  is  glittering  and 
clear  as  in  the  day.  Ketling  is  ready  to  talk  about  love 
with  you  all  night;  but  remember,  kids,  that  he  is  road- 
weary." 

"  Not  road-weary,  for  I  have  rested  two  days  in  the  city. 
I  am  only  afraid  that  the  ladies  are  not  used  to  night- 
watching." 

"  The  night  would  pass  quickly  in  listening  to  you,"  said 
Krysia. 

Then  they  parted,  for  it  was  really  late.  The  young  ladies 
slept  in  the  same  room  and  usually  talked  long  before  sleep- 
ing ;  but  this  evening  Basia  could  not  understand  Krysia, 
for  as  much  as  the  first  had  a  wish  to  speak,  so  much  was 
the  second  silent  and  answered  in  half-words.  A  number  of 
times  too,  when  Basia,  in  speaking  of  Ketling,  caught  at  an 
idea,  laughing  somewhat  at  him  and  mimicking  him  a  little, 
Krysia  embraced  her  with  great  tenderness,  begging  her  to 
leave  off  that  nonsense. 

"  He  is  host  here,  Basia,"  said  she  ;  "  we  are  living  under 
his  roof ;  and  I  saw  that  he  fell  in  love  with  you  at  once." 

"  Whence  do  you  know  that  ?  "  inquired  Basia. 

"  Who  does  not  love  you  ?  All  love  you,  and  I  very 
much."  Thus  speaking,  she  put  her  beautiful  face  to 
Basia's  face,  nestled  up  to  her,  and  kissed  her  eyes. 

They  went  at  last  to  their  beds,  but  Krysia  could  not 
sleep  for  a  long  time.  Disquiet  had  seized  her.  At  times 
her  heart  beat  with  such  force  that  she  brought  both  hands 


PAN   MICHAEL.  99 

to  her  satin  bosom  to  restrain  the  throbbing.  At  times  too, 
especially  when  she  tried  to  close  her  eyes,  it  seemed  to  her 
that  some  head,  beautiful  as  a  dream,  bent  over  her,  and  a 
low  voice  whispered  into  her  ear,  — 

"  I  would  rather  have  thee  than  a  kingdom,  than  a  sceptre, 
than  health,  than  long  life  ! " 


100  PAN  MICHAEL. 


CHAPTEK  XIII. 

A  FEW  days  later  Zagloba  wrote  a  letter  to  Pan  Yan  with 
the  following  conclusion,  "  If  I  do  not  go  home  before 
election,  be  not  astonished.  This  will  not  happen  through 
my  lack  of  good  wishes  for  you  ;  but  as  the  Devil  does  not 
sleep,  I  do  not  wish  that  instead  of  a  bird  something  useless 
should  remain  in  my  hand.  It  will  come  out  badly  if  when 
Michael  returns,  I  shall  not  be  able  to  say  to  him,  'That 
one  is  engaged,  and  the  haiduk  is  free.'  Everything  is  in 
the  power  of  God ;  but  this  is  my  thought,  that  it  will  not 
be  necessary  then  to  urge  Michael,  nor  to  make  long  prepa- 
rations, and  that  you  will  come  when  the  engagement  is 
made.  Meanwhile,  remembering  Ulysses,  I  shall  be  forced 
to  use  stratagems  and  exaggerate  more  than  once,  which  for 
me  is  not  easy,  since  all  my  life  I  have  preferred  truth  to 
every  delight,  and  was  glad  to  be  nourished  by  it.  Still,  for 
Michael  and  the  haiduk  I  will  take  this  on  my  head,  for 
they  are  pure  gold.  Now  I  embrace  you  both  with  the  boys, 
and  press  you  to  my  heart,  commending  you  to  the  Most 
High  God." 

When  he  had  finished  writing,  Zagloba  sprinkled  sand  on 
the  paper ;  then  he  struck  it  with  his  hand,  read  it  once 
more,  holding  it  at  a  distance  from  his  eyes  ;  then  he  folded 
it,  took  his  seal  ring  from  his  finger,  moistened  it,  and  pre- 
pared to  seal  the  letter,  at  which  occupation  Ketling  found 
him. 

"  A  good  day  to  your  grace  ! " 

"  Good-day,  good-day  !  "  said  Zagloba.  "  The  weather, 
thanks  be  to  God,  is  excellent,  and  I  am  just  sending  a  mes- 
senger to  Pan  Yan." 

"  Send  an  obeisance  from  me." 

"  I  have  done  so  already.  I  said  at  once  to  myself,  <  It  is 
necessary  to  send  a  greeting  from  Ketling.  Both  of  them 
will  be  gla.d  to  receive  good  news.'  It  is  evident  that  I  have 
sent  a  greeting  from  you,  since  I  have  written  a  whole 
epistle  touching  you  and  the  young  ladies." 

"  How  is  that  ?  "  inquired  Ketling. 

Zagloba  placed  his  palms  on  his  knees,  which  he  began 
to  tap  with  his  fingers  >•  then  he  bent  his  head,  and  looking 


PAN  MICHAEL.  101 

from  under  his  brows  at  Ketling,  said,  "  My  Ketling,  it  is 
not  necessary  to  be  a  prophet  to  know  that  where  flint  and 
steel  are,  sparks  will  flash  sooner  or  later.  You  are  a  beauty 
above  beauties,  and  even  you  would  not  find  fault  with  the 
young  ladies." 

Ketling  was  really  confused.  "  I  should  have  to  be  wall- 
eyed or  be  a  wild  barbarian  altogether,"  said  he,  "  if  I  did 
not  see  their  beauty,  and  do  homage  to  it." 

"  But,  you  see,"  continued  Zagloba,  looking  with  a  smile 
on  the  blushing  face  of  Ketling,  "  if  you  are  not  a  barbarian, 
it  is  not  right  for  you  to  have  both  in  view,  for  only  Turks 
act  like  that." 

"  How  can  you  suppose  —  " 

"  I  do  not  suppose  ;  I  only  say  it  to  myself.  Ha !  traitor ! 
you  have  so  talked  to  them  of  love  that  pallor  is  on  Krysia's 
lips  this  third  day.  It  is  no  wonder ;  you  are  a  beauty. 
When  I  was  young  myself,  I  used  to  stand  in  the  frost  under 
the  window  of  a  certain  black  brow ;  she  was  like  Panna 
Krysia ;  and  I  remember  how  I  used  to  sing,  — 

'  You  are  sleeping  there  after  the  day ; 
And  I  am  here  thrumming  my  lute, 

H6ts!  Hots!' 

If  you  wish,  I  will  give  you  a  song,  or  compose  an  entirely 
new  one,  for  I  have  no  lack  of  genius.  Have  you  observed 
that  Panna  Krysia  reminds  one  somewhat  of  Panna  Bille- 
vich,  except  that  Panna  Billevich  had  hair  like  flax  and  had 
no  down  on  her  lip  ?  But  there  are  men  who  find  superior 
beauty  in  that,  and  think  it  a  charm.  She  looks  with  great 
pleasure  on  you.  I  have  just  written  so  to  Pan  Yan.  Is  it 
not  true  that  she  is  like  the  former  Panna  Billevich  ?  " 

"  I  have  not  noticed  the  likeness,  but  it  may  be.  In 
figure  and  stature  she  recalls  her." 

"Now  listen  to  what  I  say.  I  am  telling  family  secrets 
directly ;  but  .as  you  are  a  friend,  you  ought  to  know  them. 
Be  on  your  guard  not  to  feed  Yolodyovski  \vith  ingratitude, 
for  I  and  Pani  Makovetski  have  predestined  one  of  those 
maidens  to  him." 

Here  Zagloba  looked  quickly  and  persistently  into  Ket- 
ling's  eyes,  and  he  grew  pale  and  inquired,  "  Which 
one  ?  " 

"Panna  Krysin,"  answered  Zagloba,  slowly.  And  push- 
ing out  his  lower  lip,  he  began  to  blink  from  under  his 
frowning  brow  with  his  one  seeing  eye.  Ketling  was  silent, 


102  PAN   MICHAEL. 

and  silent  so  long  that  at  last  Zagloba  inquired,  "  What  do 
you  say  to  this  ?  " 

And  Ketling  answered  with  changed  voice,  but  with 
emphasis,  "You  may  be  sure  that  I  shall  not  indulge  my 
heart  to  Michael's  harm." 

"  Are  you  certain  ?  " 

"  I  have  suffered  much  in  life ;  my  word  of  a  knight  that 
I  will  not  indulge  it." 

Then  Zagloba  opened  his  arms  to  him  :  "  Ketling,  indulge 
your  heart ;  indulge  it,  poor  man,  as  much  as  you  like,  for  I 
only  wanted  to  try  you.  Not  Panna  Krysia,  but  the  haiduk, 
have  we  predestined  to  Michael." 

Ketling's  face  grew  bright  with  a  sincere  and  deep  joy, 
and  seizing  Zagloba  in  his  embrace,  he  held  him  long,  then 
inquired,  "  Is  it  certain  already  that  they  are  in  love  ?  " 

"  But  who  would  not  be  in  love  with  my  haiduk,  —  who  ?" 
asked  Zagloba. 

"  Then  has  the  betrothal  taken  place  ?  " 

"There  has  been  no  betrothal,  for  Michael  has  barely 
freed  himself  from  mourning  ;  but  there  will  be,  — -put  that 
on  my  head.  The  maiden,  though  she  evades  like  a  weasel, 
is  very  much  inclined  to  him,  for  with  her  the  sabre  is  the 
main  thing." 

"  I  have  noticed  that,  as .  God  is  dear  to  me  ! "  interrupted 
Ketling,  radiant. 

"  Ha !  you  noticed  it  ?  Michael  is  weeping  yet  for  the 
other ;  but  if  any  one  pleases  his  spirit,  it  is  certainly  the 
haiduk,  for  she  is  most  like  the  dead  one,  though  she  cuts 
less  with  her  eyes,  for  she  is  younger.  Everything  is 
arranging  itself  well.  I  am  the  guarantee  that  these  two 
weddings  will  be  at  election-time." 

Ketling,  saying  nothing,  embraced  Zagloba  again,  and 
placed  his  beautiful  face  against  his  red  cheeks,  so  that  the 
old  man  panted  and  asked,  "  Has  Panna  Krysia  sewed  her- 
self into  your  skin  like  that  already  ?  " 

"  I  know  not,  —  I  know  not,"  answered  Ketling ;  "  but  I 
know  this,  that  barely  had  the  heavenly  vision  of  her  de- 
lighted my  eyes  when  I  said  at  once  to  myself  that  she  was 
the  one  woman  whom  my  suffering  heart  might  love  yet ; 
and  that  same  night  I  drove  sleep  away  with  sighs,  and 
yielded  myself  to  pleasant  yearnings.  Thenceforth  she  took 
possession  of  my  being,  as  a  queen  does  of  an  obedient  and 
loyal  country.  Whether  this  is  love  or  something  else,  I 
know  not." 


PAN  MICHAEL.  103 

"  But  you  know  that  it  is  neither  a  cap  nor  thuee  yards  of 
cloth  for  trousers,  nor  a  saddle-girth,  nor  a  crouper,  nor 
sausage  and  eggs,  nor  a  decanter  of  gorailka.  If  you  are 
certain  of  this,  then  ask  Krysia  about  the  rest ;  or  if  you 
wish,  I  will  ask  her." 

"  Do  not  do  that,"  said  Ketling,  smiling.  "  If  I  am  to 
drown,  let  it  seem  to  me,  even  a  couple  of  days  yet,  that  I 
am  swimming." 

"  I  see  that  the  Scots  are  fine  men  in  battle ;  but  in  love 
they  are  useless.  Against  women,  as  against  the  enemy, 
impetus  is  needful.  '  I  came,  I  saw,  I  conquered ! '  that 
was  my  maxim." 

"In  time,  if  my  most  ardent  desires  are  to  be  accom- 
plished, perhaps  I  shall  ask  you  for  friendly  assistance; 
though  I  am  naturalized,  and  of  noble  blood,  still  my 
name  is  unknown  here,  and  I  am  not  sure  that  Pani 
Makovetski  —  " 

"  Pani  Makovetski  ?  "  interrupted  Zagloba.  "  Have  no 
fear  about  her.  Pani  Makovetski  is  a  regular  music-box. 
As  I  wind  her,  so  will  she  play.  I  will  go  at  her  immedi- 
ately ;  I  must  forewarn  her,  you  know,  so  that  she  may  not 
look  awry  at  your  approaches  to  the  young  lady.  To  such  a 
degree  is  your  Scottish  method  one,  and  ours  another,  I  will 
not  make  a  declaration  straightway  in  your  name,  of  course ; 
I  will  say  only  that  the  maiden  has  taken  your  eye,  and 
that  it  would  be  well  if  from  that  flour  there  should  be 
bread.  As  God  is  dear  to  me,  I  will  go  at  once;  have  no 
fear,  for  in  every  case  I  am  at  liberty  to  say  what  I  like." 

And  though  Ketling  detained  him,  Zagloba  rose  and 
went  out.  On  the  way  he  met  Basia,  rushing  along  as 
usual,  and  said  to  her,  "Do  you  know  that  Krysia  has 
captured  Ketling  completely  ?  " 

"  He  is  not  the  first  man  !  "  answered  Basia. 

"  And  you  are  not  angry  about  it  ?  " 

"  Ketling  is  a  doll !  —  a  pleasant  cavalier,  but  a  doll !  I 
have  struck  my  knee  against  the  wagon-tongue ;  that  is 
what  troubles  me." 

Here  Basia,  bending  forward,  began  to  rub  her  knee, 
looking  meanwhile  at  Zagloba,  and  he  said,  "  For  God's 
sake,  be  careful !  Whither  are  you  flying  now  ?  " 

"  To  Krysia." 

"  But  what  is  she  doing  ?  " 

"  She  ?  For  some  time  past  she  keeps  kissing  me,  and 
rubs  up  to  me  like  a  cat." 


104  PAN  MICHAEL. 

"Do  nofrtell  her  that  she  has  captured  Ketling." 

«  Ah !  but  can  I  hold  out  ?  " 

Zagloba  knew  well  that  Basia  would  not  hold  out,  and  it 
was  for  that  very  reason  that  he  forbade  her.  He  went  on, 
therefore,  greatly  delighted  with  his  own  cunning,  and 
Basia  fell  like  a  bomb  into  Krysia's  chamber. 

"  I  have  smashed  my  knee ;  and  Ketling  is  dead  in  love 
with  you  !  "  cried  she,  right  on  the  threshold.  "  I  did  not 
see  the  pole  sticking  out  at  the  carriage-house  —  and  such  a 
blow  !  There  were  flashes  in  my  eyes,  but  that  is  nothing. 
Pan  Zagloba  begged  me  to  say  nothing  to  you  about 
Ketling.  I  did  not  say  that  I  would  not ;  I  have  told  you  at 
once.  And  you  were  pretending  to  give  him  to  me  !  Never 
fear;  I  know  you  —  My  knee  pains  me  a  little  yet.  I  was 
not  giving  Pan  Adam  to  you,  but  Ketling.  Oho  !  He  is 
walking  through  the  whole  house  now,  holding  his  head  and 
talking  to  himself.  Well  done,  Krysia;  well  done  !  Scot, 
Scot !  kot,  kot !  "  l 

Here  Basia  began  to  push  her  finger  toward  the  eye  of 
her  friend. 

"  Basia  !  "  exclaimed  Panna  Krysia, 

"Scot,  Scot!  kot,  kot!" 

"  How  unfortunate  I  am  ! "  cried  Krysia,  on  a  sudden, 
and  burst  into  tears. 

After  a  while  Basia  began  to  console  her ;  but  it  availed 
nothing,  and  the  maiden  sobbed  as  never  before  in  her  life. 
In  fact,  no  one  in  all  that  house  knew  how  unhappy  she 
was.  For  some  days  she  had  been  in  a  fever ;  her  face  had 
grown  pale ;  her  eyes  had  sunk ;  her  breast  was  moving 
with  short,  broken  breath.  Something  wonderful  had  taken 
place  in  her;  she  had  dropped,  as  it  were,  into  extreme 
weakness,  and  the  change  had  come  not  gradually,  slowly, 
but  on  a  sudden.  Like  a  whirlwind,  like  a  storm,  it  had 
swept  her  away ;  like  a  flame,  it  had  heated  her  blood ;  like 
lightning,  it  had  flashed  on  her  imagination.  She  could 
not,  even  for  a  moment,  resist  that  power  which  was  so 
mercilessly  sudden.  Calmness  had  left  her.  Her  will  was 
like  a  bird  with  broken  wings. 

Krysia  herself  knew  not  whether  she  loved  Ketling  or 
hated  him;  and  a  measureless  fear  seized  her  in  view  of 
that  question.  But  she  felt  that  her  heart  beat  so  quickly 

1  "  Kot  "  means  "  cat,"  hence  Basia's  exclamations  are,  "  Scot,  Scot ! 
cat.  cat ! " 


fAN   MICHAEL.  105 

only  through  him  ;  that  her  head  was  thinking  thus  help- 
lessly only  through  him ;  that  in  her  and  above  her  it 
was  full  of  him,  —  and  no  means  of  defence.  Not  to  love 
him  was  easier  than  not  to  think  of  him  ;  for  her  eyes 
were  delighted  with  the  sight  of  him,  her  ears  were  lost  in 
listening  to  his  voice,  her  whole  soul  was  absorbed  by  him. 
Sleep  did  not  free  her  from  that  importunate  man,  for 
barely  had  she  closed  her  eyes  when  his  head  bent  above 
her,  whispering,  "  I  would  rather  have  thee  than  a  king- 
dom, than  a  sceptre,  than  fame,  than  wealth."  And  that 
head  was  near,  so  near  that  even  in  the  darkness  blood-red 
blushes  covered  the  face  of  the  maiden.  She  was  a  Russian 
with  hot  blood ;  certain  fires  rose  in  her  breast,  —  fires  of 
which  she  had  not  known  till  that  time  that  they  could 
exist,  and  from  the  ardor  of  which  she  was  seized  with  fear 
and  shame,  and  a  great  weakness  and  a  certain  faintness  at 
once  painful  and  pleasant.  Night  brought  her  no  rest.  A 
weariness  continually  increasing  gained  control  of  her,  as 
if  after  great  toil. 

"  Krysia  !  Krysia  !  what  is  happening  to  thee  ?  "  cried 
she  to  herself.  But  she  was  as  if  in  a  daze  and  in  unceas- 
ing distraction.  Nothing  had  happened  yet ;  nothing  had 
taken  place.  So  far  she  had  not  exchanged  two  words 
with  Ketling  alone ;  still,  the  thought  of  him  had  taken 
hold  of  her  thoroughly ;  still,  a  certain  instinct  whispered 
unceasingly,  "  Guard  thyself !  Avoid  him."  And  she 
avoided  him. 

Krysia  had  not  thought  yet  of  her  agreement  with  Pan 
Michael,  and  that  was  her  luck ;  she  had  not  thought 
specially,  because  so  far  nothing  had  taken  place,  and 
because  she  thought  of  no  one,  —  thought  neither  of  her- 
self nor  of  others,  but  only  of  Ketling.  She  concealed  this 
too  in  her  deepest  soul ;  and  the  thought  that  no  one 
suspected  what  was  taking  place  in  her,  that  no  one  was 
occupied  with  her  and  Ketling  at  the  same  time,  brought 
her  no  small  consolation.  All  at  once  the  words  of  Basia 
convinced  her  that  it  was  otherwise,  —  that  people  were 
looking  at  them  already,  connecting  them  in  thought, 
divining  the  position.  Hence  the  disturbance,  the  shame 
and  pain,  taken  together,  overcame  her  will,  and  she  wept 
like  a  little  child. 

But  Basia's  words  were  only  the  beginning  of  those 
various  hints,  significant  glances,  blinking  of  eyes,  shaking 
of  heads,  finally,  of  those  double  meaning  phrases  which 


106  PAN  MICHAEL. 

Krysia  must  endure.  This  began  during  dinner.  Pan 
Michael's  sister  turned  her  gaze  from  Krysia  to  Ketling, 
and  from  Ketling  to  Krysia,  which  she  had  not  done 
hitherto.  Pan  Zagloba  coughed  significantly.  At  times  the 
conversation  was  interrupted,  —  it  was  unknown  wherefore  ; 
silence  followed,  and  once  during  such  an  interval  Basia, 
with  dishevelled  hair,  cried  out  to  the  whole  table,  — 

"  I  know  something,  but  I  won't  tell ! " 

Krysia  blushed  instantly,  and  then  grew  pale  at  once,  as 
if  some  terrible  danger  had  passed  near  her ;  Ketling  too 
bent  his  head.  Both  felt  perfectly  that  that  related  to 
them,  and  though  they  avoided  conversation  with  each 
other,  so  that  people  might  not  look  at  them,  still  it  was 
clear  to  both  that  something  was  rising  between  them ; 
that  some  undefined  community  of  confusion  was  in  process 
of  creation ;  that  it  would  unite  them  and  at  the  same  time 
keep  them  apart,  for  by  it  they,  lost  freedom  completely, 
and  could  be  no  longer  ordinary  friends  to  each  other. 
Happily  for  them,  no  one  gave  attention  to  Basia's  words. 
Pan  Zagloba  was  preparing  to  go  to  the  city  and  return 
with  a  numerous  company  of  knights ;  all  were  intent  on 
that  event. 

In  fact,  Ketling's  house  Avas  gleaming  with  light  in  the 
evening ;  between  ten  and  twenty  officers  came  with  music, 
which  the  hospitable  host  provided  for  the  amusement  of 
the  ladies.  Dancing  of  course  there  could  not  be,  for  it  was 
Lent,  and  Ketling's  mourning  was  in  the  way ;  but  they 
listened  to  the  music,  and  were  entertained  with  conversa- 
tion. The  ladies  were  dressed  splendidly.  Pani  Makovet- 
ski  appeared  in  Oriental  silk.  The  haiduk  was  arrayed  in 
various  colors,  and  attracted  the  eyes  of  the  military  with 
her  rosy  face  and  bright  hair,  which  dropped  at  times  over 
her  eyes;  she  roused  laughter  with  the  decision  of  her 
speech,  and  astonished  with  her  manners,  in  which  Cossack 
daring  was  combined  with  unaffectedness. 

Krysia,  whose  mourning  for  her  father  was  at  an  end, 
wore  a  white  robe  trimmed  with  silver.  The  knights  com- 
pared her,  some  to  Juno,  others  to  Diana;  but  none  came 
too  near  her  ;  no  man  twirled  his  mustache,  struck  his  heels, 
or  cast  glances ;  no  one  looked  at  her  with  flashing  eyes  or 
began  a  conversation  about  love.  But  soon  she  noticed  that 
those  who  looked  at  her  with  admiration  and  homage 
looked  afterward  at  Ketling;  that  some,  on  approaching 
him,  pressed  his  hand,  as  if  congratulating  him  and  giving 


PAN   MICHAEL.  107 

him  good  wishes ;  that  he  shrugged  his  shoulders  and  spread 
out  his  hands,  as  if  in  denial.  Krysia,  who  by  nature  was 
watchful  and  keen,  was  nearly  certain  that  they  were  talk- 
ing to  him  of  her,  that  they  considered  her  as  almost  his 
affianced;  and  since  she  could  not  see  that  Pan  Zagloba 
whispered  in  the  ear  of  each  man,  she  was  at  a  loss  to 
know  whence  these  suppositions  came.  "  Have  I  some- 
thing written  on  my  forehead?"  thought  she,  with  alarm. 
She  was  ashamed  and  anxious.  And  then  even  words  began 
to  fly  to  her  through  the  air,  as  if  not  to  her,  but  still  aloud. 
'•  Fortunate  Ketling  ! "  "  He  was  born  in  a  caul."  "  No 
wonder,  for  he  is  a  beauty  ! "  and  similar  words. 

Other  polite  cavaliers,  wishing  to  entertain  her  and  say 
something  pleasant,  spoke  of  Ketling,  praising  him  beyond 
measure,  exalting  his  bravery,  his  kindness,  his  elegant 
manners,  and  ancient  lineage.  Krysia,  whether  willing  or 
unwilling,  had  to  listen,  and  involuntarily  her  eyes  sought 
him  of  whom  men  were  talking  to  her,  and  at  times  they 
met  his  eyes.  Then  the  charm  seized  her  with  new  force, 
and  without  knowing  it,  she  was  delighted  at  the  sight  of 
him ;  for  how  different  was  Ketling  from  all  those  rugged 
soldier-forms !  "  A  king's  son  among  his  attendants," 
thought  Krysia,  looking  at  that  noble,  aristocratic  head 
and  at  those  ambitious  eyes,  full  of  a  certain  inborn  mel- 
ancholy, and  on  that  forehead,  shaded  by  rich  golden  hair. 
Her  heart  began  to  sink  and  languish,  as  if  that  head  was 
the  dearest  on  earth  to  her.  Ketling  saw  this,  and  not 
wishing  to  increase  her  confusion,  did  not  approach,  as  if 
another  were  sitting  by  her  side.  If  she  had  been  a  queen, 
he  coukl  not  have  surrounded  her  with  greater  honor  and 
higher  attention.  In  speaking  to  her,  he  inclined  his  head 
and  pushed  back  one  foot,  as  if  in  sign  that  he  was  ready 
to  kneel  at  any  moment ;  he  spoke  with  dignity,  never 
jestingly,  though  with  Basia,  for  example,  he  was  glad  to 
jest.  In  intercourse  with  Krysia,  besides  the  greatest 
respect  there  was  rather  a  certain  shade  of  melancholy 
full  of  tenderness.  Thanks  to  that  respect,  no  other  man 
permitted  himself  either  a  word  too  explicit,  or  a  jest  too 
bold,  as  if  the  conviction  had  been  fixed  upon  every  one 
that  in  dignity  and  birth  she  was  higher  than  all  others,  — 
a  lady  with  whom  there  was  never  politeness  enough. 

Krysia  was  heartily  grateful  to  him  for  this.  In  general, 
the  evening  passed  anxiously  for  her,  but  sweetly.  When 
midnight  approached,  the  musicians  stopped  playing,  the 


108  PAN  MICHAEL. 

ladies  took  farewell  of  the  company,  and  among  the  knights 
goblets  began  to  make  the  round  frequently,  and  there 
followed  a  noisier  entertainment,  in  which  Zagloba  assumed 
the  dignity  of  hetman. 

Basia  went  upstairs  joyous  as  a  bird,  for  she  had  amused 
herself  greatly.  Before  she  knelt  down  to  pray  she  began 
to  play  tricks  and  imitate  various  guests  ;  at  last  she  said 
to  Krysia,  clapping  her  hands,  — 

"  It  is  perfect  that  your  Ketling  has  come !  At  least, 
there  will  be  no  lack  of  soldiers.  Oho !  only  let  Lent 
pass,  and  I  will  dance  to  kill.  We  '11  have  fun.  And  at 
your  betrothal  to  Ketling,  and  at  your  wedding,  well,  if  I 
don't  turn  the  house  over,  let  the  Tartars  take  me  captive  ! 
What  if  they  should  take  us  really  !  To  begin  with,  there 
would  be  —  Ha !  Ketling  is  good !  He  will  bring  musicians 
for  you ;  but  with  you  I  shall  enjoy  them.  He  will  bring 
you  new  wonders,  one  after  another,  until  he  does  this  — 

Then  Basia  threw  herself  on  her  knees  suddenly  before 
Krysia,  and  encircling  her  waist  with  her  arms,  began  to 
speak,  imitating  the  low  voice  of  Ketling :  "  Your  ladyship  ! 
I  so  love  you  that  I  cannot  breathe.  I  love  you  on  foot 
and  on  horseback.  I  love  you  fasting  and  after  breakfast. 
Hove  you  for  the  ages  and  as  the  Scots  love.  Will  you 
be  mine  ?  " 

"  Basia,  I  shall  be  angry  !  "  cried  Krysia.  But  instead  of 
growing  angry,  she  caught  Basia  in  her  arms,  and  while 
trying,  as  it  were,  to  lift  her,  she  began  to  kiss  her  eyes. 


1'AX   MICHAEL.  109 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

TAX  ZACLOKA  knew  perfectly  that  the  little  knight  was 
more  inclined  toward  Krysia  than  Basia ;  but  for  that  very 
ivnson  he  resolved  to  set  Krysia  aside.  Knowing  Fan 
Michael  through  and  through,  he  was  convinced  that  if 
he  had  no  choice,  he  would  turn  infallibly  to  Basia,  with 
whom  the  old  noble  himself  was  so  blindly  in  love  that  he 
could  not  get  it  into  his  head  how  any  man  could  prefer 
another  to  her.  He  understood  also  that  he  could  riot 
render  ran  Michael  a  greater  service  than  to  get  him  his 
haiduk,  and  he  was  enchanted  at  thought  of  that  match. 
He  was  angry  at  Pan  Michael,  at  Krysia  also;  it  was  true 
he  would  prefer  that  Pan  Michael  should  marry  Krysia 
rather  than  no  one,  but  he  determined  to  do  everything  to 
make  him  marry  the  haiduk.  And  precisely  because  the 
little  knight's  inclination  toward  Krysia  was  known  to  him, 
he  determined  to  make  a  Ketling  of  her  as  quickly  as 
possible. 

Still,  the  answer  which  Zagloba  received  a  few  days  later 
from  Pan  Yan  staggered  him  somewhat  in  his  resolution. 
Pan  Yan  advised  him  to  interfere  in  nothing,  for  he  feared 
that  in  the  opposite  case  great  troubles  might  rise  easily 
between  the  friends.  Zagloba  himself  did  not  wish  this, 
therefore  certain  reproaches  made  themselves  heard  in  him  ; 
these  he  stilled  in  the  following  manner:  — 

"  If  Michael  and  Krysia  were  betrothed,  and  I  had  thrust 
Ketling  between  them  like  a  wedge,  then  I  say  nothing. 
Solomon  says,  'Do  not  poke  your  nose  into  another  man's 
purse/  and  he  is  right.  But  every  one  is  free  to  wish.  Be- 
sides, taking  things  exactly,  what  have  I  done  ?  Let  any 
one  tell  me  what." 

When  he  had  said  this,  Zagloba  put  his  hands  on  his 
hips,  pouted  his  lips,  and  looked  challengingly  on  the  walls 
of  his  ch;unl>er,  as  if  expecting  reproaches  from  them  ;  but 
since  the  \valls  made  no  answer,  he  spoke  on:  "I  told 
Ketling  that  I  had  predestined  the  haiduk  to  Michael. 
But  is  this  not  permitted  m»?  Maybe  it  is  not  true  that 
I  have  predestined  her !  If  I  wish  any  other  woman  for 
Michael,  may  the  gout  bite  me!" 


110  PAN   MICHAEL. 

The  walls  recognized  the  justice  of  Zagloba  in  perfect 
silence  ;  and  he  continued  further  :  "  I  told  the  haiduk  that 
Ketling  was,  brought  down  by  Krysia ;  maybe  that  is  not 
true  ?  Has  he  not  confessed ;  has  he  not  sighed,  sitting 
near  the  fire,  so  that  the  ashes  were  flying  through  the 
room !  And  what  I  saw,  I  have  told  others.  Pan  Yan 
has  sound  sense ;  but  no  one  will  throw  my  wit  to  the  dogs. 
I  know  myself  what  may  be  told,  and  what  would  be  better 
left  in  silence.  H'm !  he  writes  not  to  interfere  in  any- 
thing. That  may  be  done  also.  Hereafter  I  will  interfere 
in  nothing.  When  I  am  a  third  party  in  presence  of  Krysia 
and  Ketling,  I  will  go  out  and  leave  them  alone.  Let  them 
help  themselves  without  me.  In  fact,  I  think  they  will  be 
able.  They  need  no  help,  for  now  they  are  so  pushed  toward 
each  other  that  their  eyes  are  growing  white  ;  and  besides, 
the  spring  is  coming,  at  which  time  not  only  the  sun,  but 
desires  begin  to  grow  warm.  Well !  I  will  leave  them 
alone ;  but  I  shall  see  what  the  result  will  be." 

And,  in  truth,  the  result  was  soon  to  appear.  During 
Holy  Week  the  entire  company  at  Ketling's  house  went  to 
Warsaw  and  took  lodgings  in  the  hotel  on  Dluga  Street,  to 
be  near  the  churches  and  perform  their  devotions  at  pleas- 
ure, and  at  the  same  time  to  sate  their  eyes  with  the 
holiday  bustle  of  the  city.  Ketling  performed  here  the 
honors  of  host,  for  though  a  foreigner  by  origin,  he  knew 
the  capital  thoroughly  and  had  many  acquaintances  in  every 
quarter,  through  whom  he  was  able  to  make  everything  easy. 
He  surpassed  himself  in  politeness,  and  almost  divined  the 
thoughts  of  the  ladies  he  was  escorting,  especially  Krysia. 
Besides,  all  had  taken  to  loving  him  sincerely.  Pan  Michael's 
sister,  forewarned  by  Zagloba,  looked  on  him  and  Krysia 
with  a  more  and  more  favorable  eye ;  and  if  she  had  said 
nothing  to  the  maiden  so  far,  it  was  only  because  he  was 
silent.  But  it  seemed  to  the  worthy  "  auntie  "  a  natural 
thing  and  proper  that  the  cavalier  should  win  the  lady, 
especially  as  he  was  a  cavalier  really  distinguished,  who 
was  met  at  every  step  by  marks  of  respect  and  friendship, 
not  only  from  the  lower  but  from  the  higher  people ;  he 
was  so  capable  of  winning  all  to  his  side  by  his  truly  won- 
derful beauty,  bearing,  dignity,  libei-ality,  mildness  in  time 
of  peace,  and  manfulness  in  war. 

<(  What  God  will  give,  and  tny  husband  decide,  will  come 
to  pass,"  said  Pani  Makovetski  to  herself ;  "  but  I  will  not 
cross  these  two." 


PAX    MICHAEL.  HI 

Thanks  to  this  decision,  Ketling  found  himself  oftener 
with  Krysia  and  stayed  with  her  longer  than  when  in  his 
own  house.  Besides,  the  whole  company  always  went  out 
together.  Zagloba  generally  gave  his  arm  to  Pan  Michael's 
sister,  Ketling  to  Krysia,  and  Basia,  as  the  youngest,  went 
alone,  sometimes  hurrying  on  far  ahead,  then  halting  in 
front  of  shops  to  look  at  goods  and  various  wonders  from 
beyond  the  sea,  such  as  she  had  never  seen  before.  Krysia 
grew  accustomed  gradually  to  Ketling ;  and  now  when  she 
was  leaning  on  his  arm,  when  she  listened  to  his  conver- 
sation or  looked  at  his  noble  face,  her  heart  did  not  beat  in 
her  breast  with  the  former  disquiet,  presence  of  mind  did 
not  leave  her,  and  she  was  seized  not  by  confusion,  but  by 
an  immense  and  intoxicating  delight.  They  were  continu- 
ally by  themselves ;  they  knelt  near  each  other  in  the 
churches ;  their  voices  were  mingled  in  prayer  and  in 
pious  hymns. 

Ketling  knew  well  the  condition  of  his  heart.  Krysia, 
either  from  lack  of  decision  or  because  she  wished  to 
tempt  herself,  did  not  say  mentally,  "  I  love  him  ;  "  but 
they  loved  each  other  greatly.  A  friendship  had  sprung 
up  Ix-tu-een  them;  and  besides  love,  they  had  immense 
regard  for  each  other.  Of  love  itself  they  had  not  spoken 
yet ;  time  passed  for  them  as  a  dream,  and  a  serene,  sky 
was  above  them.  Clouds  of  reproaches  were  soon  to  hide 
it  from  Krysia;  but  the  present  was  a  time  of  repose. 
Specially  through  intimacy  with  Ketling,  through  becom- 
ing accustomed  to  him,  through  that  friendship  which 
with  love  bloomed  up  between  them,  Krysia's  alarms  were 
ended,  her  impressions  were  not  so  violent,  the  conflicts 
of  her  blood  and  imagination  ceased.  They  were  near  each 
other;  it  was  pleasant  for  them  in  the  company  of  each 
other;  and  Krysia,  yielding  herself  with  her  whole  soul  to 
that  agreeable  present,  was  unwilling  to  think  that  it  would 
ever  end,  and  that  to  scatter  those  illusions  it  needed  only 
one  word  1  from  Ketling,  "  I  love."  That  word  was  soon 
uttered.  Once,  when  Pan  Michael's  sister  and  Basia  were 
at  the  house  of  a  sick  relative,  Ketling  persuaded  Krysia 
and  Pan  Zagloba  to  visit  the  king's  castle,  which  Krysia 
had  not  seen  hitherto,  and  co'ncerning  whose  curiosities 
\vonders  were  related  throughout  the  whole  country. 
They  went,  then,  three  in  company.  Ketling's  liberality 

1  In  Polish,  "  I  love  "  is  one  word,  "  Kooham." 


112  PAN   MICHAEL. 

had  opened  all  doprs,  and  Krysia  was  greeted  by  obei- 
sances from  the  doorkeepers  as  profound  as  if  she  were 
a  queen  entering  her  own  residence.  Ketling,  knowing 
the  castle  perfectly,  conducted  her  through  lordly  halls 
and  chambers.  They  examined  the  theatre,  the  royal 
baths  ;  they  halted  before  pictures  representing  the  bat- 
tles and  victories  gained  by  Sigismund  and  Vladislav  over 
the  savagery  of  the  East ;  they  went  out  on  the  terraces, 
from  which  the  eye  took  in  an  immense  stretch  of  country. 
Krysia  could  not  free  herself  from  wonder;  he  explained 
everything  to  her,  but  was  silent  from  moment  to  moment, 
and  looking  in^o  her  dark-blue  eyes,  he  seemed  to  say  with 
his  glance,,  "  What  are  all  these  wonders  in  comparison 
with  thee,  thou  wonder  ?  What  are  all  these  treasures  in 
comparison  with  thee,  thou  treasure  ? "  The  young  lady 
understood  that  silent  speech.  He  conducted  her  to  one 
of  the  royal  chambers,  and  stood  before  a  door  concealed 
in  the  wall. 

"  One  may  go  to  the  cathedral  through  this  door.  There 
is  a  long  corridor,  which  ends  with  a  balcony  not  far  from 
the  high  altar.  From  this  balcony  the  king  and  queen  hear 
Mass  usually." 

"I  know  that  way  well,"  put  in  Zagloba,  "for  I  was  a 
confidant  of  Yan  Kazimir.  Marya  Ludovika  loved  me 
passionately ;  therefore  both  invited  me  often  to  Mass,  so 
that  they  might  take  pleasure  in  my  company  and  edify 
themselves  with  piety." 

"Do  you  wish  to  enter  ?  "  asked  Ketling,  giving  a  sign  to 
the  doorkeeper. 

"  Let  us  go  in,"  said  Krysia. 

"Go  alone,"  said  Zagloba;  "you  are  young  and  have 
good  feet ;  I  have  trotted  around  enough  already.  Go  on, 
go  on;  I  will  stay  here  with  the  doorkeeper.  And  even 
if  you  should  say  a  couple  of  (  Our  Fathers,'  I  shall  not  be 
angry  at  the  delay,  for  during  that  time  I  can  rest  myself." 

They  entered.  Kotling  took  Krysia's  hand  and  led  her 
through  a  long  corridor.  He  did  not  press  her  hand  to  his 
heart ;  he  walked  calmly  and  collectedly.  At  intervals  the 
side  windows  threw  light  on  their  forms,  then  they  sank 
again  in  the  darkness.  Her  heart  beat  somewhat,  because 
they  were  alone  for  the  first  time ;  biit  his  calmness  and 
mildness  made  her  calm  also.  They  carre  out  at  last  to  the 
balcony  on  the  right  side  of  the  church,  not  far  from  the 
high  altar.  They  knelt  and  began  to  pray.  The  church 


PAN   MICHAEL.  113 

was  silent  and  empty.  Two  candles  were  burning  before 
the  high  altar,  but  all  the  deeper  part  of  the  'nave  was 
buried  in  impressive  twilight.  Only  from  the  rainbow- 
colored  panes  of  the  -windows  various  gleams  entered  and 
fell  on  the  two  wonderful  faces,  sunk  in  prayer,  calm,  like 
the  faces  of  cherubim. 

Ketling  rose  first  and  began  to  whisper,  for  he  dared  not 
raise  his  voice  in  the  church.  "Look,"  said  he,  "at  this 
velvet-covered  railing ;  on  it  are  traces  where  the  heads  of 
the  royal  couple  rested.  The  queen  sat  at  that  side,  nearer 
the  altar.  Rest  in  her  place." 

"  Is  it  true  that  she  was  unhappy  all  her  life  ? "  whis- 
pered Krysia,  sitting  down.  "  I  heard  her  history  when  I 
was  still  a  child,  for  it  is  related  in  all  knightly  castles. 
Perhaps  she  was  unhappy  because  she  could  not  marry  him 
whom  her  heart  loved." 

Krysia  rested  her  head  on  the  place  where  the  depression 
was  made  by  the  head  of  Marya  Ludovika,  and  closed  her 
eyes.  A  kind  of  painful  feeling  straitened  her  breast;  a 
certain  coldness  was  blown  suddenly  from  the  empty  nave 
and  chilled  that  calm  which  a  moment  before  filled  her 
whole  being. 

Ketling  looked  at  Krysia  in  silence;  and  a  stillness 
really  churchlike  set  in.  Then  he  sank  slowly  "to  her  feet, 
and  began  to  speak  thus  with  a  voice  that  was  full  of  emo- 
tion, but  calm :  — 

"  It  is  not  a  sin  to  kneel  before  you  in  this  holy  place ; 
for  where  does  true  love  come  for  a  blessing  if  not  to  the 
church  ?  I  love  you  more  than  life ;  I  love  you  beyond 
every  earthly  good ;  I  love  you  with  my  soul,  with  my 
heart ;  and  here  before  this  altar  I  confess  that  love  to 
yon." 

Krysia's  face  grew  pale  as  linen.  Resting  her  head  on 
the  velvet  back  of  the  prayer-stool,  the  unhappy  lady  stirred 
not,  but  he  spoke  on  :  — 

"I  embrace  your  feet  and  implore  your  decision.  Am  I 
to  go  from  this  place  in  heavenly  delight,  or  in  grief  which 
I  am  unable  to  bear,  and  which  I  can  in  no  way  survive  ?  " 

He  waited  awhile  for  an  answer;  but  since  it  did  not 
come,  he  bowed  his  head  till  he  almost  touched  Krysia's 
feet,  and  evident  emotion  mastered  him  more  and  more,  for 
his  voice  trembled,  as  if  breath  were  failing  his  breast,  — 

"  Into  your  hands  I  give  my  happiness  and  life.  I  expect 
mercy,  for  my  burden  is  great.'' 

tt 


114  PAN  MICHAEL. 

"  Let  us  pray  for  God's  mercy ! "  exclaimed  Krysia, 
suddenly/ dropping  on  her  knees. 

Ketling  did  not  understand  her ;  but  he  did  not  dare  to 
oppose  that  intention,  therefore  he  knelt  near  her  in  hope 
and  fear.  They  began  to  pray  again.  From  moment  to 
moment  their  voices  were  audible  in  the  empty  church,  and 
the  echo  gave  forth  wonderful  and  complaining  sounds. 

"  God  be  merciful ! "  said  Krysia. 

"  God  be  merciful ! "  repeated  Ketling. 

"  Have  mercy  on  us  !  " 

"  Have  mercy  on  us  !  " 

She  prayed  then  in  silence ;  but  Ketling  saw  that  weep- 
ing shook  her  whole  form.  For  a  long  time  she  could  not 
calm  herself ;  and  then,  growing  quiet,  she  continued  to 
kneel  without  motion.  At  last  she  rose  and  said,  "  Let  us 
go." 

They  went  out  again  into  that  long  corridor.  Ketling 
hoped  that  on  the  way  he  would  receive  some  answer,  and 
he  looked  into  her  eyes,  but  in  vain.  She  walked  hurriedly, 
as  if  wishing  to  find  herself  as  soon  as  possible  in  that 
chamber  in  which  Zagloba  was  waiting  for  them.  But 
when  the  door  was  some  tens  of  steps  distant,  the  knight 
seized  the  edge  of  her  robe. 

"  Panna  Krysia  !  "  exclaimed  he,  "  by  all  that  is  holy  —  " 

Then  Krysia  turned  away,  and  grasping  his  hand  so 
quickly  that  he  had  not  time  to  show  the  least  resistance, 
she  pressed  it  in  the  twinkle  of  an  eye  to  her  lips.  "  I  love 
you  with  my  whole  soul ;  but  I  shall  never  be  yours  ! "  and 
before  the  astonished  Ketling  could  utter  a  word,  she 
added,  "  Forget  all  that  has  happened." 

A  moment  later  they  were  both  in  the  chamber.  The 
doorkeeper  was  sleeping  in  one  armchair,  and  Zagloba  in 
the  other.  The  entrance  of  the  young  people  roused  them. 
Zagloba,  however,  opened  his  eye  and  began  to  blink  with 
it  half  consciously;  but  gradually  memory  of. the  place  and 
the  persons  returned  to  him. 

"Ah,  that  is  you!"  said  he,  drawing  down  his  girdle. 
"  I  dreamed  that  the  new  king  was  elected,  but  that  he  was  a 
Pole.  Were  you  at  the  balcony  ?  " 

"  We  were." 

"Did  the  spirit  of  Marya  Ludovika  appear  to  you, 
perchance  ?  " 

"  It  did ! >f  answered  Krysia,  gloomily. 


PAN  MICHAEL.  H5 


CHAPTER  XV. 

AFTER  they  had  left  the  castle,  Ketling  needed  to  collect 
his  thoughts  and  shake  himself  free  from  the  astonishment 
into  which  Krysia's  action  had  brought  him.  He  took 
farewell  of  her  and  Zagloba  in  front  of  the  gate,  and  they 
went  to  their  lodgings.  Basia  and  Pani  Makovetski  had 
returned  already  from  the  sick  lady ;  and  Pan  Michael's 
sister  greeted  Zagloba  with  the  following  words,  — 

"  I  have  a  letter  from  my  husband,  who  remains  yet  with 
Michael  at  the  stanitsa.  They  are  both  well,  and  promise 
to  be  here  soon.  There  is  a  letter  to  you  from  Michael, 
and  to  me  only  a  postscript  in  my  husband's  letter.  My 
husband  writes  also  that  the  dispute  with  the  Jubris  about 
one  of  Basia's  estates  has  ended  happily.  Kow  the  time  of 
provincial  diets  is  approaching.  They  say  that  in  those 
parts  Pan  Sobieski's  name  has  immense  weight,  and  that 
the  local  diet  will  vote  as  he  wishes.  Every  man  living  is 
preparing  for  the  election ;  but  our  people  will  all  be  with 
the  hetman.  It  is  warm  there  already,  and  rains  are  falling. 
With  us  in  Verhutka  the  buildings  were  burned.  A  ser- 
vant dropped  fire ;  and  because  there  was  wind  —  " 

;' Where  is  Michael's  letter  to  me?"  inquired  Zagloba, 
interrupting  the  torrent  of  news  given  out  at  one  breath  by 
the  worthy  lady. 

"  Here  it  is,"  said  she,  giving  him  a  letter.  "  Because 
there  was  wind,  and  the  people  were  at  the  fair  —  " 

"  How  were  the  letters  brought  here  ?  "  asked  Zagloba, 
again. 

"They  were  taken  to  Ketling's  house,  and  a  servant 
brought  them  here.  Because,  as  I  say,  there  was  wind — " 

"  Do  you  wish  to  listen,  my  benefactress  ?  " 

"  Of  course,  I  beg  earnestly." 

Zagloba  broke  the  seal  and  began  to  read,  first  in  an 
undertone,  for  himself,  then  aloud  for  all,  — 

"  I  send  this  first  letter  to  you ;  but  God  grant  that  there  will  not 
be  another,  for  posts  are  uncertain  in  this  region,  and  I  shall  soon 
present  myself  personally  among  you.  It  is  pleasant  here  in  the 
field,  but  still  my  heart  draws  me  tremendously  toward  you,  and 


116  PAN  MICHAEL. 

there  is  no  end  to  thoughts  and  memories,  wherefore  solitude  is 
dearer  to  me  in  this  place  than  company.  The  promised  work  has 
passed,  for  the  hordes  sit  quietly,  only  smaller  bands  are  rioting  in 
the  fields ;  these  also  we  fell  upon  twice  with  such  fortune  that  not  a 
witness  of  their  defeat  got  away." 

"  Oh,  they  warmed  them ! "   cried  Basia,  with  delight. 
"  There  is  nothing  higher  than  the  calling  of  a  soldier !  " 
• 

"  Doroshenko's  rabble  ''  (continued  Zagloba)  "  would  like  to  have 
an  uproar  with  us,  but  they  cannot  in  any  way  without  the  horde-. 
The  prisoners  confess  that  a  larger  chambul  will  not  move  from  any 
quarter,  which  I  believe,  for  if  there  was  to  be  anything  like  this  it 
would  have  taken  place  already,  since  the  grass  has  been  green  for  a 
week  past,  and  there  is  something  with  which  to  feed  horses.  In 
ravines  bits  of  snow  are  still  hiding  here  and  there ;  but  the  open 
steppes  are  green,  and  a  warm  wind  is  blowing,  from  which  the 
horses  begin  to  shed  their  hair,  and  this  is  the  surest  sign  of  spring. 
I  have  sent  already  for  leave,  which  may  come  any  day,  and  then  I 
shall  start  at  once.  Pan  Adam  succeeds  me  in  keeping  guard,  at 
which  there  is  so  little  labor  that  Makovetski  and  I  have  been  fox- 
hunting whole  days,  —  for  simple  amusement,  as  the  fur  is  useless 
when  spring  is  near.  There  are  many  bustards,  and  my  servant 
shot  a  pelican.  I  embrace  you  with  my  whole  heart ;  I  kiss  the 
hands  of  my  sister,  and  those  of  Panna  Krysia,  to  whose  good-will  I 
commit  myself  most  earnestly,  imploring  God  specially  to  let  me  find 
her  unchanged,  and  to  receive  the  same  consolation.  Give  an  obeisance 
from  me  to  Panna  Basia.  Pan  Adam  has  vented  the  anger  roused 
by  his  rejection  at  Afokotov  on  the  backs  of  ruffians,  but  there  is  still 
some  in  his  mind,  it  is  evident.  He  is  not  wholly  relieved.  I 
commit  you  to  God  and  His  most  holy  love. 

"  P.  S.  I  bought  a  lot  of  very  elegant  ermine  from  passing 
Armenians ;  I  shall  bring  this  as  a  gift  to  Panna  Krysia,  and  for 
your  haiduk  there  will  be  Turkish  sweetmeats." 

"Let  Pan  Michael  eat  them  himself;  I  am  not  a  child," 
said  Basia,  whose  cheeks  flushed  as  if  from  sudden  pain. 

"  Then  you  will  not  be  glad  to  see  him  ?  Are  you  angry 
at  him  ?  "  asked  Zagloba. 

But  Basia  merely  muttered  something  in  low  tones,  and 
really  settled  down  in  anger,  thinking  some  of  how  lightly 
Pan  Michael  was  treating  her,  and  a  little  about  the  bustard 
and  that  pelican,  which  roused  her  curiosity  specially. 

Krysia  sat  there  during  the  reading  with  closed  eyes, 
turned  from  the  light;  in  truth,  it  was  lucky  that  those 
present  could  not  see  her  face,  for  they  would  have  known 
at  once  that  something  uncommon  was  happening.  That 
which  took  place  in  the  church,  and  the  letter  of  Pan 


1'AX    MICHAEL.  117 

Volodyovski,  were  for  her  like  t\vo  blows  of  a  club.  The 
wonderful  dream  had  fled;  and  from  that  moment  the 
maiden  stood  face  to  face  with  a  reality  as  crushing  as  mis- 
fortune. She  could  not  collect  her  thoughts  to  wait,  and 
indefinite,  hazy  feelings  were  storming  in  her  heart.  Pan 
Michael,  with  his  letter,  with  the  promise  of  his  coming, 
and  with  a  bundle  of  ermine,  seemed  to  her  so  flat  that  he 
was  almost  repulsive.  On  the  other  hand,  Ketling  had 
never  been  so  dear.  Dear  to  her  was  the  very  thought  of 
him,  dear  his  words,  dear  his  face,  dear  his  melancholy. 
And  now  she  must  go  from  love,  from  homage,  from  him 
toward  whom  her  heart  is  struggling,  her  hands  stretching 
.forth,  in  endless  sorrow  and  suffering,  to  give  her  soul  and 
her  body  to  another,  who  for  this  alone,  that  he  is  another, 
becomes  wellnigh  hateful  to  her. 

"  I  cannot,  I  cannot !  "  cried  Krysia,  in  her  soul.  And 
she  felt  that  which  a  captive  feels  whose  hands  men  are 
binding ;  but  she  herself  had  bound  her  own  hands,  for  in 
her  time  she  might  have  told  Pan  Michael  that  she  would 
be  his  sister,  nothing  more. 

Now  the.  kiss  came  to  her  memory, — that  kiss  received 
and  returned,  — and  shame,  with  contempt  for  her  own  self, 
seized  her.  Was  she  in  love  with  Pan  Michael  that  day  ? 
No  !  In  her  heart  there  was  no  love,  and  except  sympathy 
there  was  nothing  in  her  heart  at  that  time  but  curiosity 
and  giddiness,  masked  with  the  show  of  sisterly  affection. 
Now  she  has  discovered  for  the  first  time  that  between 
kissing  from  great  love  and  kissing  from  impulse  of  blood, 
there  is  as  much  difference  as  between  an  angel  and  a 
devil.  Anger  as  well  as  contempt  was  rising  in  Krysia ; 
then  pride  began  to  storm  in  her  and  against  Pan  Michael. 
He  too  was  at  fault ;  why  should  all  the  penance,  contri- 
tion, and  disappointment  fall  upon  her  ?  Why  should  lie 
too  not  taste  the  bitter  bread  ?  Has  she  not  the  right  to 
say  when  he  returns,  "  I  was  mistaken  ;  I  mistook  pity 
for  love.  You  also  were  mistaken  ;  now  leave  me,  as  I 
have  left  you." 

Suddenly  fear  seized  her  by  the  hair,  —  fear  before  the 
vengeance  of  the  terrible  man ;  fear  not  for  herself,  but 
for  the  head  of  the  loved  one,  whom  vengeance  would  strike 
without  fail.  In  imagination  she  saw  Ketling  standing  up 
to  the  struggle  with  that  ominous  swordsman  beyond 
swordsmen,  and  then  falling  as  a  flower  falls  cut  by  a 
scythe ;  she  sees  his  blood,  his  pale  face,  his  eyes  closed  for 


118  PAN   MICHAEL. 

the  ages,  and  her  suffering  goes  beyond  every  measure.  She 
rose  with  all  speed  and  went  to  her  chamber  to  vanish 
from  the  eyes  of  people,  so  as  not  to  hear  conversation  con- 
cerning Pan  Michael  and  his  approaching  return.  In  her 
heart  rose  greater  and  greater  animosity  against  the  little 
knight.  But  Remorse  and  Regret  pursued  her,  and  did  not 
leave  her  in  time  of  prayer;  they  sat  on  her  bed  when, 
overcome  with  weakness,  she  lay  in  it,  and  began  to  speak 
to  her. 

"  Where  is  he  ?  "  asked  Regret.  "  He  has  not  returned 
yet;  he  is  walking  through  the  night  and  wringing  his 
hands.  Thou  wouldst  incline  the  heavens  for  him,  thou 
wouldst  give  him  thy  life's  blood;  but  thou  hast  given 
him  poison  to  drink,  thou  hast  thrust  a  knife  through  his 
heart." 

"  Had  it  not  been  for  thy  giddiness,  had  it  not  been  for 
thy  wish  to  lure  every  man  whom  thou  meetest,"  said 
Remorse,  "all  might  be  different;  but  now  despair  alone 
remains  to  thee.  It  is  thy  fault,  —  thy  great  fault ! 
There  is  no  help  for  thee ;  there  is  no  rescue  for  thee  now, 
— nothing  but  shame  and  pain  and  weeping." 

"  How  he  knelt  at  thy  feet  in  the  church  ! "  said  Regret, 
again.  "  It  is  a  wonder  that  thy  heart  did  not  burst  when 
he  looked  into  thy  eyes  and  begged  of  thee  pity.  It  was 
just  of  thee  to  give  pity  to  a  stranger,  but  to  the  loved  one, 
the  dearest,  what  ?  God  bless  him  !  God  solace  him  !  " 

"  Were  it  not  for  thy  giddiness,  that  dearest  one  might 
depart  in  joy,"  repeated  Remorse  ;  "  thou  mightest  walk  at 
his  side,  as  his  chosen  one,  his  wife  — 

"  And  be  with  him  forever,"  added  Regret. 

"  It  is  thy  fault,"  said  Remorse. 

"  Weep,  0  Krysia,"  cried  Regret. 

"  Thou  canst  not  wipe  away  that  fault !  "  said  Remorse, 
again. 

"  Do  what  thou  pleases  t,  but  console  him,"  repeated 
Regret. 

"  Volodyovski  will  slay  him  I "  answered  Remorse,  at 
once. 

Cold  sweat  covered  Krysia,  and  she  sat  on  the  bed. 
Bright  moonlight  fell  into  the  room,  which  seemed  some- 
how weird  and  terrible  in  those  white  rays. 

"What  is  that?"  thought  Krysia.  "There  Basia  is 
sleeping.  I  see  her,  for  the  moon  is  shining  in  her  face ; 
and  I  know  not  when  she  came,  when  she  undressed  and  lay 


PAN   MICHAEL.  119 

down.  And  I  have  not  slept  one  moment;  but  my  poor 
head  is  of  no  use,  that  is  clear."  Thus  meditating,  she  lay 
down  again  ;  but  llegret  and  Kemorse  sat  on  the  edge  of 
her  bed,  exactly  like  two  goddesses,  who  were  diving  in  at 
will  through  the  rays  of  moonlight,  or  sweeping  out  again 
through  its  silvery  abysses. 

"  I  shall  not  sleep  to-night,"  said  Krysia  to  herself,  and 
she  began  to  think  about  Ketling,  aud  to  suffer  more  and 
more. 

Suddenly  the  sorrowful  voice  of  Basia  was  heard  in  the 
stillness  of  the  night,  "  Kvysia  !  " 

"  Are  you  not  sleeping  ?  " 

"  No,  for  I  dreamed  that  some  Turk  pierced  Pan  Michael 
with  an  arrow.  O  Jesus  !  a  deceiving  dream.  But  a  fever 
is  just  shaking  me.  Let  us  say  the  Litany  together,  that 
God  may  avert  misfortune." 

The  thought  flew  through  Krysia's  head  like  lightning, 
"  God  grant  some  one  to  shoot  him !  "  But  she  was 
astonished  immediately  at  her  own  wickedness  ;  therefore, 
though  it  was  necessary  for  her  to  get  superhuman,  power 
to  pray  at  that  particular  moment  for  the  return  of  Pan 
Michael,  still  she  answered,  — 

"  Very  well,  Basia." 

Then  both  rose  from  their  beds,  and  kneeling  on  their 
naked  knees  on  the  floor,  began  to  say  the  Litany.  Their 
voices  responded  to  each  other,  now  rising  and  now  falling ; 
you  would  have  said  that  the  chamber  was  changed  into  the 
cell  of  a  cloister  in  which  two  white  nuns  were  repeating 
their  nightly  prayers. 


120  PAN  MICHAEL. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

NEXT  morning  Krysia  was  calmer ;  for  among  intricate 
and  tangled  paths  she  had  chosen  for  herself  an  immensely 
difficult,  but  not  a  false  one.  Entering  upon  it,  she  saw  at 
least  whither  she  was  going.  But,  first  of  all,  she  de- 
termined to  have  an  interview  with  Ketling  and  speak  with 
him  for  the  last  time,  so  as  to  guard  him  from  every  mishap. 
This  did  not  come  to  her  easily,  for  Ketling  did  not  show 
himself  for  a  number  of  consecutive  days,  and  did  not 
return  at  night. 

Krysia  began  to  rise  before  daylight  and  walk  to  the 
neighboring  church  of  the  Dominicans,  with  the  hope  that 
she  would  meet  him  some  morning  and  speak  to  him  with- 
out witnesses.  In  fact,  she  met  him  a  few  days  later  at  the 
very  door.  When  he  saw  her,  he  removed  his  cap  and  bent 
his  head  in  silence.  He  stood  motionless;  his  face  was 
wearied  by  sleeplessness  and  suffering,  his  eyes  sunk ;  on 
his  temples  there  were  yellowish  spots ;  the  delicate  color 
of  his  face  had  become  waxlike ;  he  looked  like  a  flower 
that  is  withering.  Krysia's  heart  was  rent  at  sight  of  him ; 
and  though  every  decisive  step  cost  her  very  much,  for  she 
was  not  bold  by  nature,  she  was  the  first  to  extend  the 
hand,  and  said,  — 

"May  God  comfort  you  and  send  you  forgetfulness  !  " 

Ketling  took  her  hand,  raised  it  to  his  forehead,  then  to 
his  lips,  to  which  he  pressed  it  long  and  with  all  his  force ; 
then  he  said  with  a  voice  full  of  mortal  sadness  and  of  resig- 
nation, "  There  is  for  me  neither  solace  nor  forgetfulness." 

There  was  a  moment  when  Krysia  needed  all  her  self- 
control  to  restrain  herself  from  throwing  her  arms  around 
his  neck  and  exclaiming,  lc  I  love  thee  above  everything ! 
take  me."  She  felt  that  if  weeping  were  to  seize  her  she 
would  do  so;  therefore  she  stood  a  long  time  before  him 
in  silence,  struggling  with  her  tears.  At  last  she  conquered 
herself  and  began  to  speak  calmly,  though  very  quickly,  for 
breath  failed  her  :  — 

"  It  may  bring  you  some  relief  if  I  say  that  I  shall  belong 
to  no  one.  I  go  behind  the  grating.  Do  not  judge  me  harshly 


PAN   MICHAEL.  121 

at  any  time,  for  as  it  is  I  am  unhappy.  Promise  me,  give 
me  your  word,  that  you  will  not  mention  your  love  for  me 
to  any  one ;  that  you  will  not  acknowledge  it ;  that  you 
will  not  disclose  to  friend  or  relative  what  has  happened. 
This  is  my  last  prayer.  The  time  will  come  when  you  will 
know  why  I  do  this ;  then  at  least  you  will  have  the  explana- 
tion. To-day  I  will  tell  you  no  more,  for  my  sorrow  is  such 
that  I  cannot.  Promise  me  this,  —  it  will  comfort  me ;  if 
you  do  not,  I  may  die." 

"  I  promise,  and  give  my  word,"  answered  Ketling. 

"  God  reward  you,  and  I  thank  you  from  my  whole  heart ! 
Besides,  show  a  calm  face  in  presence  of  people,  so  that  no 
one  may  have  a  suspicion.  It  is  time  for  me  to  go.  Your 
kindness  is  such  that  words  fail  to  describe  it.  Henceforth 
we  shall  not  see  each  other  alone,  only  before  people.  Tell 
me  further  that  you  have  no  feeling  of  offence  against  me  ; 
for  to  suffer  is  one  thing  and  to  be  offended  another.  You 
yield  me  to  God,  to  no  one  else ;  keep  this  in  mind." 

Ketling  wished  to  say  something;  but  since  he  was 
suffering  beyond  measure,  only  indefinite  sounds  like  groans 
came  from  his  mouth ;  then  he  touched  Krysia's  temples 
with  his  fingers  and  held  them  for  a  while  as  a  sign  that  he 
forgave  her  and  blessed  her.  They  parted  then  ;  she  went 
to  the  church,  and  he  to  the  street  again,  so  as  not  to  meet 
in  the  inn  an  acquaintance. 

Krysia  returned  only  in  the  afternoon ;  and  when  she 
came  she  found  a  notable  guest,  Bishop  Olshovski,  the  vice- 
chancellor.  He  had  come  unexpectedly  on  a  visit  to  Pan 
Zagloba,  wishing,  as  he  said  himself,  to  become  acquainted 
with  such  a  great  cavalier,  "whose  military  pre-eminence 
was  an  example,  and  whose  reason  \vas  a  guide  to  the 
knights  of  that  whole  lordly  Commonwealth."  Zagloba  was, 
in  truth,  much  astonished,  but  not  less  gratified,  that  such  a 
great  honor  had  met  him  in  presence  of  the  ladies ;  he 
plumed  himself  greatly,  was  flushed,  perspired,  and  at  the 
same  time  endeavored  to  show  Pani  Makovetski  that  he 
was  accustomed  to  such  visits  from  the  greatest  dignitaries 
in  the  country,  and  that  lie  made  nothing  of  them.  Krysia 
was  presented  to  the  prelate,  arid  kissing  his  hands  with 
humility,  sat  near  Basia,  glad  that  no  one  could  see  the 
traces  of  recent  emotion  on  her  face. 

Meanwhile  the  vice-chancellor  covered  Zagloba  so  bounti- 
fully and  so  easily  with  praises  that  he  seemed  to  be  drawing 
new  supplies  of  them  continually  from  his  violet  sleeves 


122  PAN  MICHAEL. 

embroidered  with  lace.  "  Think  not,  your  grace,"  said  he, 
"  that  I  was  drawn  hither  by  curiosity  alone  to  know  the 
first  man  in  the  knighthood ;  for  though  admiration  is  a 
just  homage  to  heroes,  still  men  make  pilgrimages  for  their 
own  profit  also  to  the  place  where  experience  and  quick 
reason  have  taken  their  seats  at  the  side  of  inanfuluess." 

"  Experience,"  said  Zagloba,  modestly,  "  especially  in  the 
military  art,  comes  only  with  age;  and  for  that  cause  perhaps 
the  late  Pan  Konyetspolski,  father  of  the  banneret,  asked 
me  frequently  for  counsel,  after  him  Pan  Nikolai  Pototski, 
Prince  Yeremi  Vishnyevetski,  Pan  Sapyeha,  and  Pan  Char- 
nyetski ;  but  as  to  the  title  '  Ulysses,'  I  have  always  pro- 
tested against  that  from  considerations  of  modesty." 

"  Still,  it  is  so  connected  with  your  grace  that  at  times 
no  one  mentions  your  real  name,  but  says, '  Our  Ulysses,' 
and  all  divine  at  once  whom  the  orator  means.  Therefore, 
in  these  difficult  and  eventful  times,  when  more  than  one 
wavers  in  his  thoughts  and  does  not  know  whither  to  turn, 
whom  to  uphold,  I  said  to  myself,  '  I  will  go  and  hear 
convictions,  free  myself  from  doubt,  enlighten  my  mind 
with  clear  counsel.'  You  will  divine,  your  grace,  that  I 
wish  to  speak  of  the  coming  election,  in  view  of  which 
every  estimate  of  candidates  may  lead  to  some  good ;  but 
what  must  one  be  which  flows  from  the  mouth  of  your 
grace  ?  I  have  heard  it  repeated  with  the  greatest  applause 
among  the  knighthood  that  you  are  opposed  to  those 
foreigners  who  are  pushing  themselves  on  to  our  lordly 
throne.  In  the  veins  of  the  Vazas,  as  you  explained,  there 
flowed  Yagellon  blood,  — hence  they  could  not  be  considered 
as  strangers ;  but  those  foreigners,  as  you  said,  neither  know 
our  ancient  Polish  customs  nor  will  they  respect  our  liberties, 
and  hence  absolute  rule  may  arise  easily.  1  acknowledge  to 
your  grace  that  these  are  deep  words ;  but  pardon  me  if  I 
inquire  whether  you  really  uttered  them,  or  is  it  public 
opinion  that  from  custom  ascribes  all  profound  sentences  to 
you  in  the  first  instance  ?  " 

"  These  ladies  are  witness,"  answered  Zagloba ;  "  and 
though  this  subject  is  not  suited  to  their  judgment,  let  them 
speak,  since  Providence  in  its  inscrutable  decrees  has  given 
them  the  gift  of  speech  equally  with  us." 

The  vice-chancellor  looked  involuntarily  on  Pani  Mako- 
vetski,  and  then  on  the  two  young  ladies  nestled  up  to  each 
other.  A  moment  of  silence  followed.  Suddenly  the  silvery 
voice  of  Basia  was  heard,  — 


PAN   MICHAEL.  123 

"  I  did  not  hear  anything ! " 

Then  she  was  confused  terribly  and  blushed  to  her  very 
ears,  especially  when  Zagloba  said  at  once,  "  Pardon  her, 
your  dignity.  She  is  young,  therefore  giddy.  But  as  to 
candidates,  I  have  said  more  than  once  that  our  Polish 
liberty  will  weep  by  reason  of  these  foreigners." 

"  I  fear  that  myself,"  said  the  prelate ;  "  but  even  if  we 
wished  some  Pole,  blood  of  our  blood  and  bone  of  our  bone, 
tell  me,  your  grace,  to  what  side  should  we  turn  our  hearts  ? 
Your  grace's  very  thought  of  a  Pole  is  great,  and  is  spread- 
ing through  the  country  like  a  flame  ;  for  I  hear  that  every- 
where in  the  diets  which  are  not  fettered  by  corruption  one 
voice  is  to  be  heard,  '  A  Pole,  a  Pole  ! ' ' 

"  Justly,  justly  ! "  interrupted  Zagloba. 

"  Still,"  continued  the  vice-chancellor,  "  it  is  easier  to 
call  for  a  Pole  than  to  find  a  fit  person  ;  therefore  let  your 
grace  be  not  astonished  if  I  ask  whom  you  had  in  mind." 

"  Whom  had  I  in  mind  ?  "  repeated  Zagloba,  somewhat 
puzzled;  and  pouting  his  lips,  he  wrinkled  his  brows.  It 
was  difficult  for  him  to  give  a  sudden  answer,  for  hitherto 
not  only  had  he  no  one  in  mind,  but  in  general  he  had  not 
those  ideas  at  all  which  the  keen  prelate  had  attributed  to 
him.  Besides,  he  knew  this  himself,  and  understood  that 
the  vice-chancellor  was  inclining  him  to  some  side  ;  but  he 
let  himself  be  inclined  purposely,  for  it  flattered  him  greatly. 
"  I  have  insisted  only  in  principle  that  we  need  a  Pole," 
said  he  at  last ;  "  but  to  tell  the  truth,  I  have  not  named 
any  man  thus  far." 

"  I  have  heard  of  the  ambitious  designs  of  Prince  Boguslav 
Radzivill,"  muttered  the  prelate,  as  if  to  himself. 

"  While  there  is  breath  in  my  nostrils,  while  the  last  drop 
of  blood  is  in  my  breast,"  cried  Zagloba,  with  the  force  of 
deep  conviction,  "  nothing  will  come  of  that !  I  should  not 
wish  to  live  in  a  nation  so  disgraced  as  to  make  a  traitor 
and  a  Judas  its  king." 

"  That  is  the  voice  not  only  of  reason,  but  of  civic  virtue," 
muttered  the  vice-chancellor,  again. 

"  Ha ! "  thought  Zagloba,  "  if  you  wish  to  draw  me,  I  will 
draw  you." 

Then  the  vice-chancellor  began  anew  t  "  When  wilt  thou 
sail  in,  0  battered  ship  of  my  country  ?  What  storms,  what 
rocks  are  in  wait  for  thee  ?  In  truth,  it  will  be  evil  if  a 
foreigner  becomes  thy  steersman ;  but  it  must  be  so  evi- 
dently, if  among  thy  sons  there  is  no  one  better."  Here  he 


124  PAN  MICHAEL. 

stretched  out  his  white  hands,  ornamented  with  glittering 
rings,  and  inclining  his  head,  said  with  resignation,  "  Then 
Conde,  or  he  of  Lorraine,  or  the  Prince  of  Neuberg  ?  There 
is  no  other  outcome  ! " 

"  That  is  impossible  !     A  Pole  ! "  answered  Zagloba. 

"  Who?  "  inquired  the  'prelate. 

Silence  followed.  Then  the  prelate  began  to  speak 
again:  "If  there  were  even  one  on  whom  all  could  agree  ! 
Where  is  there  a  man  who  would  touch  the  heart  of  the 
knighthood  at  once,  so  that  no  one  would  dare  to  murmur 
against  his  election  ?  There  was  one  such,  the  greatest, 
who  had  rendered  most  service,  —  your  worthy  friend,  0 
knight,  who  walked  in  glory  as  in  sunlight.  There  was 
such  a  —  " 

"  Prince  Yererai  Vishnyevetski ! "  interrupted  Zagloba. 

"  That  is  true.     But  he  is  in  the  grave." 

"  His  son  lives,"  replied  Zagloba. 

The  vice-chancellor  half  closed  his  eyes,  and  sat  some 
time  in  silence  ;  all  at  once  he  raised  his  head,  looked  at 
Zagloba,  and  began  to  speak  slowly :  "  I  thank  God  for 
having  inspired  me  with  the  idea  of  knowing  your  grace. 
That  is  it !  the  son  of  the  great  Yeremi  is  alive,  — a  prince 
young  and  full  of  hope,  to  whom  the  Commonwealth  has  a 
debt  to  pay.  Of  his  gigantic  fortune  nothing  remains  but 
glory,  —  that  is  his  only  inheritance.  Therefore  in  the 
present  times  of  corruption,  when  every  man  turns  his 
eyes  only  to  where  gold  is  attracting,  who  will  mention 
his  name,  who  will  have  the  courage  to  make  him  a  can- 
didate ?  You  ?  True  !  But  will  there  be  many  like  you  ? 
It  is  not  wonderful  that  he  whose  life  has  been  passed 
in  heroic  struggles  on  all  fields  will  not  fear  to  give  hom- 
age to  merit  with  his  vote  on  the  field  of  election  ;  but  will 
others  follow  his  example  ?  "  Here  the  vice-chancellor  fell 
to  thinking,  then  raised  his  eyes  and  spoke  on  :  "  God  is 
mightier  than  all.  Who  knows  His  decisions,  who  knows  ? 
When  I  think  how  all  the  knighthood  believe  and  trust  you, 
I  see  indeed  with  wonderment  that  a  certain  hope  enters  my 
heart.  Tell  me  sincerely,  has  the  impossible  ever  existed 
for  you  ?  " 

"  Never !  "  answered  Zagloba,  with  conviction. 

"Still,  it  is  not  proper  to  advance  that  candidacy  too 
decidedly  at  first.  Let  the  name  strike  people's  ears,  but 
let  it  not  seem  too  formidable  to  opponents  ;  let  them  rather 
laugh  at  it,  and  sneer,  so  that  they  may  not  raise  too  seri- 


PAN   MICHAEL.  125 

ous  impediments.  Perhaps,  too,  God  will  grant  it  to  succeed 
quickly,  when  the  intrigues  of  parties  bring  them  to  mutual 
destruction.  Smooth  the  road  for  it  gradually,  your  grace, 
and  grow  not  weary  in  labor;  for  this  is  your  candidate, 
worthy  of  your  reason  and  experience.  God  bless  you  in 
these  plans !  " 

"Am  I  to  suppose,"  inquired  Zagloba,  "  that  your  dignity 
has  been  thinking  also  of  Prince  Michael  ?  " 

The  vice-chancellor  took  from  his  sleeve  a  small  book  on 
which  the  title  "  Oensura  Candidatorum "  stood  in  large 
black  letters,  and  said,  "  .Read,  your  grace ;  let  this  letter 
answer  for  me." 

Then  the  vice-chancellor  began  preparations  for  going ; 
but  Zagloba  detained  him  and  said,  "  Permit  me,  your 
dignity,  to  say  something  more.  First  of  all,  I  thank  God 
that  the  lesser  seal  is  in  hands  which  can  bend  men  like 
wax." 

"  How  is  that  ?  "  asked  the  vice-chancellor,  astonished. 

"  Secondly,  I  will  tell  your  dignity  in  advance  that  the 
candidacy  of  Prince  Michael  is  greatly  to  my  heart,  for  I 
knew  his  father,  and  loved  him  and  fought  under  him  with 
my  friends;  they  too  will  be  delighted  in  soul  at  the  thought 
that  they  can  show  the  son  that  love  which  they  had  for  the 
father.  Therefore  I  seize  at  this  candidacy  with  both 
hands,  and  this  day  I  will  speak  with  Pan  Kry  tski,  —  a 
man  of  great  family  and  my  acquaintance,  who  is  in  high 
consideration  among  the  nobles,  for  it  is  difficult  not  to  love 
him.  We  will  both  do  what  is  in  our  power;  and  God  grant 
that  we  shall  effect  something  !  " 

"  May  the  angels  attend  you  !"  said  the  prelate ;  "if  you 
do  that,  we  have  nothing  more  to  say." 

"  With  the  permission  of  your  dignity  I  have  to  speak  of 
one  thing  more  ;  namely,  that  your  dignity  should  not  think 
to  yourself  thuswise:  'I  have  put  my  own  wishes  into  his 
mouth  ;  I  have  talked  into  him  this  idea  that  he  has  found 
out  of  his  own  wit  the  candidacy  of  Prince  Michael,  —  speak- 
ing briefly,  I  have  twisted  the  fool  in  my  hand  as  if  he  were 
wax.'  Your  dignity,  I  will  advance  the  cause  of  Prince 
Michael,  because  it  is  to  my  heart, — that  is  what  the  case 
is  ;  because,  as  I  see,  it  is  to  the  heart  also  of  your  dignity, 
—  that  is  what  the  case  is  ! .  I  will- advance  it  for  the  sake 
of  his  mother,  for  the  sake  of  my  friends ;  I  will  advance 
it  because  of  the  confidence  which  I  have  in  the  head " 
(here  Zagloba  inclined)  "from  which  that  Minerva  sprang 


126  PAN   MICHAEL. 

forth,  but  not  because  I  let  myself  be  persuaded,  like  a 
little  boy,  that  the  invention  is  mine ;  and  in  fine,  not 
because  I  am  a  fool,  but  for  the  reason  that  when  a  wise 
man  tells  me  a  wise  thing,  old  Zagloba  says,  '  Agreed  ! ' ' 

Here  the  noble  inclined  once  more.  The  vice-chancellor 
was  confused  considerably  at  first ;  but  seeing  the  good- 
humor  of  the  noble  and  that  the  affair  was  taking  the  turn 
so  much  desired,  he  laughed  from  his  whole  soul,  then 
seizing  his  head  with  both  hands,  he  began  to  repeat,  — 

"  Ulysses  !  as  God  is  dear  to  me,  a  genuine  Ulysses  ! 
Lord  brother,  whoso  wishes  to  do  a  good  thing  must  deal 
with  men  variously ;  but  with  you  I  see  it  is  requisite  to 
strike  the  quick  straightway.  You  have  pleased  my  heart 
immensely." 

"  As  Prince  Michael  has  mine." 

"  May  God  give  you  health  !  Ha !  I  am  beaten,  but  I 
am  glad.  You  must  have -eaten  many  a  starling  in  your 
youth.  And  this  signet  ring,  —  if  it  will  serve  to  commem- 
orate our  colloquium  —  " 

"  Let  that  ring  remain  in  its  own  place/'  said  Zagloba. 

"  You  will  do  this  for  me  —  " 

"  I  cannot  by  any  means.  Perhaps  another  time  —  later 
on  —  after  the  election." 

The  vice-chancellor  understood,  and  insisted  no  more ; 
he  went  out,  however,  with  a  radiant  face. 

Zagloba  conducted  him  to  the  gate,  and  returning,  mut- 
tered, "  Ha  !  I  gave  him  a  lesson  !  One  rogue  met  another. 
But  it  is  an  honor.  Dignitaries  will  outrun  one  another  in 
coming  to  these  gates.  I  am  curious  to  know  what  the 
ladies  think  of  this  ! " 

The  ladies  were  indeed  full  of  admiration ;  and  Zagloba 
grew  to  the  ceiling,  especially  in  the  eyes  of  Pan  Michael's 
sister,  so  that  he  had  barely  shown  himself  when  she 
exclaimed  with  great  enthusiasm,  "  You  have  surpassed 
Solomon  in  wisdom." 

And  Zagloba  was  very  glad.  "  Whom  have  I  surpassed, 
do  you  say  ?  Wait,  you  will  see  hetmans,  bishops,  and 
senators  here :  I  shall  have  to  escape  from  them  or  hide 
behind  the  curtains." 

Further  conversation  was  interrupted  by  the  entrance 
of  Ketling. 

"  Ketling,  do  you  want  promotion  ?  "  cried  Zagloba,  still 
charmed  with  his  own  significance. 

"  No  !  "  answered  the  knight,  in  sadness  ;  "  for  I  must 
leave  you  again,  and  for  a  long  time." 


PAN   MICHAEL.  127 

Zagloba  looked  at  him  more  attentively.  "  How  is  it 
that  you  are  so  cut  down  ?  " 

"  Just  for  this,  that  I  am  going  away." 

«  Whither  ?  " 

"  I  have  received  letters  from  Scotland,  from  old  friends 
of  my  father  and  myself.  My  affairs  demand  me  there 
absolutely  ;  perhaps  for  a  long  time.  I  am  grieved  to  part 
with  all  here  —  but  I  must." 

Zagloba,  going  into  the  middle  of  the  room,  looked  at 
Pan  Michael's  sister,  then  at  the  young  ladies,  and  asked, 
"  Have  you  heard.?  In  the  name  of  the  Father,  Son,  and 
Holy  Ghost ! " 


128  PAN   MICHAEL. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THOUGH  Zagloba  received  the  news  of  Ketling's  depart- 
ure with  astonishment,  still  no  suspicion  came  into  his 
head  ;  for  it  was  easy  to  admit  that  Charles  II.  had  remem- 
bered the  services  which  the  Ketlings.  had  rendered  the 
throne  in  time  of  disturbance,  and  that  he  wished  to  show 
his  gratitude  to  the  last  descendant  of  the  family.  It 
would  seem  even  most  wonderful  were  he  to  act  other- 
wise. Besides,  Ketling  showed  Zagloba  certain  letters  from 
beyond  the  sea,  and  convinced  him  decisively.  In  its  way 
that  journey  endangered  all  the  old  noble's  plans,  and  he 
was  thinking  with  alarm  of  the  future.  Judging  by  his 
letter,  Volodyovski  might  return  any  day. 

"  The  winds  have  blown  away  in  the  steppes  the  remnant 
of  his  grief,"  thought  Zagloba.  "  He  will  come  back  more 
daring  than  when  he  departed ;  and  because  some  devil  is 
drawing  him  more  powerfully  to  Krysia,  he  is  ready  to 
propose  to  her  straightway.  And  then,  -.—  then  Krysia  will 
say  yes  (for  how  could  she  say  no  to  such  a  cavalier,  and, 
besides,  the  brother  of  Pani  Makovetski  ?),  and  my  poor, 
dearest  haiduk  will  be  on  the  ice." 

But  Zagloba,  with  the  persistence  special  to  old  people, 
determined  at  all  costs  to  marry  Basia  to  the  little  knight. 
Neither  the  arguments  of  Pan  Yan,  nor  those  which  at 
intervals  he  used  on  himself,  had  serious  effect.  At  times 
he  promised  mentally,  it  is  true,  not  to  interfere  again  in 
anything ;  but  he  returned  afterward  involuntarily  with 
greater  persistence  to  the  thought  of  uniting  this  pair.  He 
meditated  for  whole  days  how  to  effect  this ;  he  formed 
plans,  he  framed  stratagems.  And  he  went  so  far  that 
when  it  seemed  to  him  that  he  had  hit  upon  the  means,  he 
cried  out  straightway,  as  if  the  affair  were  over,  "May 
God  bless  you  ! " 

But  now  Zagloba  saw  before  him  almost  the  ruin  of  his 
wishes.  There  remained  nothing  more  to  him  but  to 
abandon  all  his  efforts  and  leave  the  future  to  God's  will ; 
for  the  shadow  of  hope  that  before  his  departure  Ketling 
would  take  some  decisive  step  with  reference  to  Krysia 


PAN  MICHAEL.  129 

could  not  remain  long  in  Zagloba's  head.  It  was  only 
from  sorrow  and  curiosity,  therefore,  that  he  determined  to 
inquire  of  .the  young  knight  touching  the  time  of  his 
going,  as  well  as  what  he  intended  to  do  before  leaving 
;he  Commonwealth. 

Having  invited  Ketling  to  a  conversation,  Zagloba  said 
with  a  greatly  grieved  face,  "  A  difficult  case  !  Each  man 
knows  best  what  he  ought  to  do,  and  I  will  not  ask  you  to 
stay  ;  but  I  should  like  to  know  at  least  something  about 
your  return.'' 

••  ( 'an  I  tell  what  is  waiting  for  me  there,  where  I  am 
going  ?  "  answered  Ketling,  —  "  what  questions  and  what 
adventures  ?  I  will  return  sometime,  if  I  can.  I  will  stay 
there  for  good  if  I  must." 

"  You  will  find  that  your  heart  will  draw  you  back  to  us." 

"  God  grant  that  my  grave  will  be  nowhere  else  but  in 
the  land  which  gave  me  all  that  it  could  give  !  " 

"  Ah,  you  see  in  other  countries  a  foreigner  is  a  step- 
child all  his  life  ;  but  our  mother  opens  her  arms  to  you  at 
once,  and  cherishes  you  as  her  own  son." 

"  Truth,  a  great  truth.  Ei  !  if  only  I  could  —  For 
everything  in  the  old  country  may  come  to  me,  but  happi- 
ness will  not  come." 

"  Ah  !  I  said  to  you,  l  Settle  down ;  get  married.'  You 
would  not  listen  to  me.  If  you  were  married,  even  if  you 
went  away,  you  would  have  to  return,  unless  you  wished  to 
take  your  wife  through  the  raging  waves  ;  and  I  do  not 
suppose  that.  I  gave  you  advice.  Well,  you  would  n't  take 
it ;  you  would  n't  take  it." 

Here  Zagloba  looked  attentively  at  Ketling's  face,  wish- 
ing some  definite  explanation  from  him,  but  Ketling  was 
silent ;  he  merely  hung  his  head  and  fixed  his  eyes  on  the 
floor. 

"  What  is  your  answer  to  this  ?  "  asked  Zagloba,  after  a 
•;vhile. 

"  I  had  no  chance  whatever  of  taking  it,"  answered  the 
young  knight,  slowly. 

Zagloba  began  to  walk  through  the  room,  then  he  stopped 
in  front  of  Ketling,  joined  his  hands  behind  his  back,  and 
said,  "  But  I  tell  you  that  you  had.  If  you  had  not,  may  I 
never  from  this  day  forward  bind  this  body  of  mine  with 
this  belt  here  !  Krysia  is  a  friend  of  yours." 

"  God  grant  that  she  remain  one,  though  seas  be  between 
us!" 

9 


130  PAN  MICHAEL. 

"  What  does  that  mean  ?  " 

"Nothing  more  ;  nothing  more." 

"Have  you  asked  her  ?" 

"  Spare  me.     As  it  is,  I  am  so  sad  because  I  am  going." 

"  Ketliug,  do  you  wish  me  to  speak  to  her  while  there  is 
time  ?  " 

Ketling  considered  that  if  Krysia  wished  so  earnestly 
that  their  feelings  should  remain  secret,  perhaps  she  might 
be  glad  if  an  opportunity  were  offered  of  denying  them 
openly,  therefore  he  answered,  "  I  assure  you  that  that  is 
vain,  and  I  am  so  far  convinced  that  I  have  done  everything 
to  drive  that  feeling  from  my  head ;  but  if  you  are  looking 
for  a  miracle,  ask." 

"  Ah,  if  you  have  driven  her  out  of  your  head,"  said 
Zagloba,  with  a  certain  bitterness,  "  there  is  nothing  indeed 
to  be  done.  Only  permit  me  to  remark  that  I  looked  on 
you  as  a  man  of  more  constancy." 

Ketling  rose,  and  stretching  upward  his  two  hands  fever- 
ishly, said  with  violence  unusual  to  him,  "  What  will  it 
help  me  to  wish  for  one  of  those  stars  ?  I  cannot  fly  up  to 
it,  neither  can  it  come  down  to  me.  Woe  to  people  who 
sigh  after  the  silver  moon !  " 

Zagloba  grew  angry,  and  began  to  puff.  For  a  time  he 
could  not  even  speak,  and  only  when  he  had  mastered  his 
anger  did  he  answer  with  a  broken  voice,  "  My  dear,  do  not 
hold  me  a  fool ;  if  you  have  reasons  to  give,  give  them  to  me, 
as  to  a  man  who  lives  on  bread  and  meat,  not  as  to  one  who 
is  mad,  —  for  if  1  should  now  frame  a  fiction,  and  tell  you 
that  this  cap  of  mine  here  is  the  moon,  and  that  I  cannot 
reach  it  with  my  hand,  I  should  go  around  the  city  with  a 
bare,  bald  head,  and  the  frost  would  bite  my  ears  like  a  dog. 
I  will  not  wrestle  with  statements  like  that.  But  I  know 
this :  the  maiden  lives  three  rooms  distant  from  here ;  she 
eats ;  she  drinks ;  when  she  walks,  she  must,  put  one  foot 
before  the  other ;  in  the  frost  her  nose  grows  red,  and  she 
feels  hot  in  the  heat ;  when  a  mosquito  bites  her,  she  feels 
it ;  and  as  to  the  moon,  she  may  resemble  it  in  this,  that 
she  has  no  beard.  But  in  the  way  that  yon  talk,  it  may  be 
said  that  a  turnip  is  an  astrologer.  As  to  Krysia,  if  you 
have  not  tried,  if  you  have  not  asked  her,  it  is  your  own 
fault ;  but  if  you  have  ceased  to  love  the  girl,  and  now  you 
are  going  away,  saying  to  yourself  '  moon/  then  you  may 
nourish  any  weed  with  your  honesty  as  well  as  your  wit,  — 
that  is  the  point  of  the  question." 


TAN  MICHAEL.  131 

To  this  Ketling  answered,  "  It  is  not  sweet,  but  bitter  in 
iny  mouth  from  the  food  which  you  are  giving  me.  I  go, 
for  I  must;  I  do  not  ask,  because  I  have  nothing  to  ask 
about.  But  you  judge  me  unjustly,  —  God  knows  how 
unjustly ! " 

"  Ketling !  I  know,  of  course,  that  you  are  a  man  of 
honor ;  but  I  cannot  understand  those  Avays  of  yours.  In 
my  time  a  man  went  to  a  maiden  and  spoke  into  her  eyes 
with  this  rhyme,  '  If  you  wish  me,  we  will  live  together;  if 
not,  I  will  not  buy  you.' l  Each  one  knew  what  he  had  to 
do ;  whoever  was  halting,  and  not  bold  in  speech,  sent  a 
better  man  to  talk  than  himself.  I  offered  you  my  services, 
and  offer  them  yet.  I  will  go ;  I  will  talk  ;  I  will  bring 
back  an  answer,  and  according  to  that,  you  will  go  or  stay." 

"  I  must  go !  it  cannot  be  otherwise,  and  will  not." 

"  You  will  return." 

"  No  !  Do  me  a  kindness,  and  speak  no  more  of  this. 
If  you  wish  to  inquire  for  your  own  satisfaction,  very  well, 
but  not  in  my  name." 

"  For  God's  sake,  have  you  asked  her  already  ?  " 

"  Let  us  not  speak  of  this.     Do  me  the  favor." 

"  Well,  let  us  talk  of  the  weather.  May  the  thunderbolt 
strike  you,  and  your  ways  !  So  you  must  go,  and  I  must 
curse." 

"I  take  farewell  of  you." 

"  Wait,  wait !  Anger  will  leave  me  this  moment.  My 
Ketling,  wait,  for  I  had  something  to  say  to  you.  When  do 
you  go  ?  " 

"  As  soon  as  I  can  settle  my  affairs.  I  should  like  to 
wait  in  Courland  for  the  quarter's  rent ;  and  the  house  in 
which  we  have  been  living  I  would  sell  willingly  if  any  one 
would  buy  it." 

"  Let  Makovetski  buy  it,  or  Michael.  In  God's  name ! 
but  you  will  not  go  away  without  seeing  Michael  ?  " 

"  I  should  be  glad  in  my  soul  to  see  him." 

"  He  may  be  here  any  moment.  He  may  incline  you  to 
Krysia." 

Here  Zagloba  stopped,  for  a  certain  alarm  seized  him 
suddenly.  "  I  was  serving  Michael  in  good  intent,"  thought 
he,  "but  terribly  against  his  will;  if  discord  is  to  rise 
between  him  and  Ketling,  better  let  -Ketling  go  away." 
Here  Zagloba  rubbed  his  bald  head  with  his  hand ;  at  last  he 

1  In  the  original  this  forms  a  rhymed  couplet. 


132  PAN   MICHAEL. 

added,  "  One  thing  and  another  was  said  out  of  pure  good- 
will. I  have  so  fallen  in  love  with  you  that  I  would  be 
glad  to  detain  you  by  all  means  ;  therefore  I  put  Krysia 
before  you,  like  a  bit  of  bacon.  But  that  was  only  through 
good-will.  What  is  it  to  me,  old  man  ?  In  truth,  that  was 
only  good-will, — nothing  more.  lam  not  match-making; 
if  I  were,  I  would  have  made  a  match  for  myself.  Ketling, 
give  me  your  face,1  and  be  not  angry." 

Ketling  embraced  Zagloba,  who  became  really  tender,  and 
straightway  gave  command  to  bring  the  decanter,  saying, 
"We  will  drink  one  like  this  every  day  on  the  occasion  of 
your  departure." 

And  they  drank.  Then  Ketling  bade  him  good-by  and 
went  out.  Immediately  the  wine  roused  fancy  in  Zagloba ; 
he  began  to  meditate  about  Basia,  Krysia,  Pan  Michael,  and 
Ketling,  began  to  unite  them  in  couples,  to  bless  them  ;  at 
last  he  wished  to  see  the  young  ladies,  and  said,  "  Well,  I 
will  go  and  see  those  kids." 

The  young  ladies  were  sitting  in  the  room  beyond  the 
entrance,  and  sewing.  Zagloba,  after  he  had  greeted  them, 
walked  through  the  room,  dragging  his  feet  a  little;  for 
they  did  not  serve  him  as  formerly,  especially  after  wine. 
While  walking,  he  looked  at  the  maidens,  who  were  sitting 
closely,  one  near  the  other,  so  that  the  bright  head  of 
Basia  almost  touched  the  dark  one  of  Krysia.  Basia 
followed  him  with  her  eyes ;  but  Krysia  was  sewing  so 
diligently  that  it  was  barely  possible  to  catch  the  glitter  of 
her  needle  with  the  eye. 

u  H'm  !  "  said  Zagloba. 

"  H'm !  "  repeated  Basia. 

"  Don't  mock  me,  for  I  am  angry." 

"  He  '11  be  sure  to  cut  my  head  off ! "  cried  Basia,  feign- 
ing terror. 

"  Strike !  strike  !  I  '11  cut  your  tongue  out,  —  that 's 
what  I  '11  do  !  " 

Saying  this,  Zagloba  approached  the  young  ladies,  and 
putting  his  hands  on  his  hips,  asked  without  any  prelimi- 
nary, "Do  you  want  Ketling  as  husband?" 

"  Yes  ;  five  like  him  !  "  said  Basia,  quickly. 

"  Be  quiet,  fly !  I  am  not  talking  to  you.  Krysia,  the 
speech  is  to  you.  Do  you  want  Ketling  as  husband  ?  " 

Krysia  had  grown  pale  somewhat,  though  at  first  she 

1  That  i%  let  me  kiss  you. 


PAN   MICHAEL.  133 

thought  that  Zagloba  was  asking  Basia,  not  her ;  then  she 
raised  on  the  old  noble  her  beautiful  dark-blue  eyes.  "No/' 
answered  she,  calmly. 

"  Well,  'pon  iny  word !  No !  At  least  it  is  short. 
Ton  my  word  !  —  'pon  iny.  word !  And  why  do  you  not 
want  him  ?  " 

"  I  want  no  one." 

"  Krysia,  tell  that  to  some  one  else,"  put  in  Basia. 

"  What  brought  the  married  state  into  such  contempt 
with  you  ?  "  continued  Zagloba. 

"  Not  contempt ;  I  have  a  vocation  for  the  convent," 
answered  Krysia. 

There  was  in  her  voice  so  much  seriousness  and  such  sad- 
ness that  Basia  and  Zagloba  did  not  admit  even  for  a  moment 
that  she  was  jesting ;  but  such  great  astonishment  seized 
both  that  they  began  to  look  as  if  dazed,  now  on  each  other, 
now  on  Krysia. 

"  Well ! "  said  Zagloba,  breaking  the  silence  first. 

"I  wish  to  enter  a  convent,"  repeated  Krysia,  with 
sweetness. 

Basia  looked  at  her  once  and  a  second  time,  suddenly 
threw  her  arms  around  her  neck,  pressed  her  rosy  lips  to 
her  cheek,  and  began  to  say  quickly,  "  Oh,  Krysia,  I  shall 
sob !  Say  quickly  that  you  are  only  talking  to  the  wind ; 
I  shall  sob,  as  God  is  in  heaven,  I  shall ! " 


134  PAN  MICHAEL. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

AFTER  his  interview  with  Zagloba,  Ketling  went  to  Pan 
Michael's  sister,  whom  he  informed  that  because  of  urgent 
affairs  he  must  remain  in  the  city,  and  perhaps  too  before 
his  final  journey  he  would  go  for  some  weeks  to  Couiiand ; 
therefore  he  would  not  be  able  in  person  to  entertain  her 
in  his  suburban  house  longer.  But  he  implored  her  to  con- 
sider that  house  as  her  residence  in  the  same  way  as  hitherto, 
and  to  occupy  it  with  her  husband  and  Pan  Michael  during 
the  coming  election.  Pani  Makovetski  consented,  for  in 
the  opposite  event  the  house  would  become  empty,  and 
bring  profit  to  no  one. 

After  that  conversation  Ketling  vanished,  and  showed  him- 
self no  more  either  in  the  inn,  or  later  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Mokotov,  when  Pan  Michael's  sister  returned  to  the 
suburbs  with  the  young  ladies.  '  Krysia  alone  felt  that 
absence ;  Zagloba  was  occupied  wholly  with  the  coming 
election  ;  while  Basia  and  Pani  Makovetski  had  taken  the 
sudden  decision  of  Krysia  to  heart  so  much  that  they  could 
think  of  nothing  else. 

Still,  Pani  Makovetski  did  not  even  try  to  dissuade 
Krysia;  for  in  those  times  opposition  to  such  undertak- 
ings seemed  to  people  an  injury  and  an  offence  to  God. 
Zagloba  alone,  in  spite  of  all  his  piety,  would  have  had  the 
courage  to  protest,  had  it  concerned  him  in  any  way ;  but 
since  it  did  not,  he  sat  quietly,  and  he  was  content  in  spirit 
that  affairs  had  arranged  themselves  so  that  Krysia  retired 
from  between  Pan  Michael  and  the  haiduk.  Now  Zagloba 
was  convinced  of  the  successful  accomplishment  of  his  most 
secret  desires,  and  gave  himself  with  all  freedom  to  the 
labors  of  the  election ;  he  visited  the  nobles  who  had  come 
to  the  capital,  or  he  spent  the  time  in  conversations  with  the 
vice-chancellor,  with  whom  he  fell  in  love  at  last,  becoming 
his  trusted  assistant.  After  each  such  conversation  he  re- 
turned home  a  more  zealous  partisan  of  the  "  Pole,"  and  a 
more  determined  enemy  of  foreigners.  Accommodating  him- 
self to  the  instructions  of  the  vice-chancellor,  he  remained 
quietly  in  that  condition  so  far,  but  not  a  day  passed  that 


PAN   MICHAEL.  135 

he  did  not  win  some  one  for  the  secret  candidate,  and  that 
happened  which  usually  happens  in  such  cases,  —  he  pushed 
himself  forward  so  far  that  that  candidacy  became  the 
second  object  in  his  life,  at  the  side  of  the  union  of  Basia 
and  Pan  Michael.  Meanwhile  they  were  nearer  and  nearer 
the  election. 

Spring  had  already  freed  the  waters  from  ice  ;  breezes 
warm  and  strong  had  begun  to  blow ;  under  the  breath  of 
these  breezes  the  trees  were  sprinkled  with  buds,  and  flocks 
of  swallows  were  hovering  around,  to  spring  out  at  any 
moment,  as  simple  people  think,  from  the  ocean  of  winter 
into  the  bright  sunlight.  Guests  began  to  come  to  the  elec- 
tion, with  the  swallows  and  other  birds  of  passage.  First 
of  all  came  merchants,  to  whom  a  rich  harvest  of  profit  was 
indicated,  in  a  place  where  more  than  half  a  million  of  people 
were,  to  assemble,  counting  magnates  with  their  forces,  nobles, 
servants,  and  the  army.  Englishmen,  Hollanders,  Germans, 
Russians,  Tartars,  Turks,  Armenians,  and  even  Persians 
came,  bringing  stuffs,  linen,  damask,  brocades,  furs,  jewels, 
perfumes,  and  sweetmeats.  Booths  were  erected  on  the 
streets  and  outside  the  city,  and  in  them  was  every  kind  of 
merchandise.  Some  "  bazaars  "  were  placed  even  in  subur- 
ban villages  ;  for  it  was  known  that  the  inns  of  the  capital 
could  not  receive  one  tenth  of  the  electors,  and  that  an 
enormous  majority  of  them  would  be  encamped  outside 
the  walls,  as  was  the  case  always  during  time  of  election. 
Finally,  the  nobles  began  to  assemble  so  numerously,  in 
such  throngs,  that  if  they  had  come  in  like  numbers  to 
the  threatened  boundaries  of  the  Commonwealth,  the  foot 
of  any  enemy  would  never  have  crossed  them. 

Reports  went  around  that  the  election  would  be  a  stormy 
one,  for  the  whole  country  was  divided  between  three  chief 
candidates,  —  Conde,  the  Princes  of  Neuberg  and  of  Lorraine. 
It  was  said  that  each  party  would  endeavor  to  seat  its  own 
candidate,  even  by  force.  Alarm  seized  hearts  ;  spirits  were 
inflamed  with  partisan  rancor.  Some  prophesied  civil  war ; 
and  these  forebodings  found  faith,  in  view  of  the  gigantic 
military  legions  with  which  the  magnates  had  surrounded 
themselves.  They  arrived  early,  so  as  to  have  time  for 
intrigues  of  all  kinds.  When  the  Commonwealth  was  in 
peril,  when  the  enemy  was  putting  the  keen  edge  to  its 
throat,  neither  king  nor  hetman  could  bring  more  than  a 
wretched  handful  of  troops  against  him  ;  but  now  in  spite 
of  laws  and  enactments,  the  Radzivills  alone  came  with  an 


136  FAN  MICHAEL. 

army  numbering  between  ten  and  twenty  thousand  men. 
The  Patses  had  behind  them  an  almost  equivalent  force ; 
the  powerful  Pototskis  were  coming  with  no  smaller 
strength  ;  other  "  kinglets  "  of  Poland,  Lithuania,  and  Rus- 
sia were  coming  with  forces  but  slightly  inferior.  "  When 
wilt  thou  sail  in,  0  battered  ship  of  my  country  ?  "  repeated 
the  vice-chancellor,  more  and  more  frequently  ;  but  he  him- 
self had  selfish  objects  in  his  heart.  The  magnates,  with 
few  exceptions,  corrupted  to  the  marrow  of  their  bones, 
were  thinking  only  of  themselves  and  the  greatness  of  their 
houses,  and  were  ready  at  any  moment  to  rouse  the  tempest 
of  civil  war. 

The  throng  of  nobles  increased  daily ;  and  it  was  evident 
that  when,  after  the  Diet,  the  election  itself  would  begin, 
they  would  surpass  even  the  greatest  force  of  the  magnates. 
But  these  throngs  were  incompetent  to  bring  the  ship  of 
the  Commonwealth  into  calm  waters  successfully,  for  their 
heads  were  sunk  in  darkness  and  ignorance,  and  their  hearts 
were  for  the  greater  part  corrupted.  The  election  there- 
fore gave  promise  of  being  prodigious,  and  no  one  foresaw 
that  it  would  end  only  shabbily,  for  except  Zagloba,  even 
those  who  worked  for  the  "  Pole  "  could  not  foresee  to  what 
a  degree  the  stupidity  of  the  nobles  and  the  intrigues  of 
the  magnates  would  aid  them ;  not  many  had  hope  to  carry 
through  such  a  candidate  as  Prince  Michael.  But  Zagloba 
swam  in  that  sea  like  a  fish  in  water.  From  the  beginning 
of  the  Diet  he  dwelt  in  the  city  continually,  and  was  at 
Ketliug's  house  only  when  he  yearned  for  his  haiduk  ;  but 
as  Basia  had  lost  much  joy  fulness  by  reason  of  Krysia's 
resolve,  Zagloba  took  her  sometimes  to  the  city  to  let  hei 
amuse  herself  and  rejoice  her  eyes  with  the  sight  of  the 
shops. 

They  went  out  usually  in  the  morning;  and  Zagloba 
brought  her  back  not  infrequently  late  in  the  evening.  On 
the  road  and  in  the  city  itself  the  heart  of  the  maiden  was 
rejoiced  at  sight  of  the  merchandise,  the  strange  people, 
the  many-colored  crowds,  the  splendid  troops.  Then  her 
eyes  would  gleam  like  two  coals,  her  head  turn  as  if  on  a 
pivot ;  she  could  not  gaze  sufficiently,  nor  look  around 
enough,  and  overwhelmed  the  old  man  with  questions  by 
the  thousand.  He  answered  gladly,  for  in  this  way  he 
showed  his  experience  and  learning.  More  than  once  a 
gallant  company  of  military  surrounded  the  equipage  in 
which  they  were  riding;  the  knighthood  admired  Basia's 


1'AN  MICHAEL.  137 

beauty  greatly,  her  quick  wit  and  resolution,  and  Zagloba 
always  told  them  the  story  of  the  Tartar,  slain  with  duck- 
shot,  so  as  to  sink  them  completely  in  amazement  and 
delight. 

A  certain  time  Zagloba  and  Basia  were  coming  home 
very  late ;  for  the  review  of  Pan  Felix  Pototski's  troops 
had  detained  them  all  day.  The  night  was  clear  and  warm  ; 
white  mists  were  hanging  over  the  fields.  Zagloba,  though 
always  watchful,  since  in  such  a  concourse  of  serving-men 
and  soldiers  it  was  necessary  to  pay  careful  attention  not 
to  strike  upon  outlaws,  had  fallen  soundly  asleep ;  the 
driver  was  dozing  also ;  Basia  alone  was  not  sleeping,  for 
through  her  head  were  moving  thousands  of  thoughts  and 
pictures.  Suddenly  the  tramp  of  a  number  of  horses  came 
to  her  ears.  Pulling  Zagloba  by  the  sleeve,  she  said,  — 

"Horsemen  of  some  kind  are  pushing  on  after  us." 

"  What  ?     How  ?     Who  ?  "  asked  the  drowsy  Zagloba. 

"  Horsemen  of  some  kind  are  coming." 

"  Oh  !  they  will  come  up  directly.  The  tramp  of  horses 
is  to  be  heard;  perhaps  some  one  is  going  in  the  same 
direction  —  " 

"  They  are  robbers,  I  am  sure  ! " 

Basia  was  sure,  for  the  reason  that  in  her  soul  she  was 
eager  for  adventures,  —  robbers  and  opportunities  for  her 
daring,  —  so  that  when  Zagloba,  puffing  and  muttering, 
began  to  draw  out  from  the  seat  pistols,  which  he  took  with 
him  always  for  "an  occasion,"  she  claimed  one  for  herself. 

"  I  shall  not  miss  the  first  robber  who  approaches. 
Auntie  shoots  wonderfully  with  a  musket,  but  she  cannot 
see  in  the  night.  I  could  swear  that  those  men  are  robbers ! 
Oh,  if  they  would  only  attack  us !  Give  me  the  pistol 
quickly ! " 

"Well,"  answered  Zagloba,  "but  you- must  promise  not 
to  fire  before  I  do,  and  till  I  say  fire.  If  I  give  you  a 
weapon,  you  will  be  ready  to  shoot  the  noble  that  you 
see  first,  without  asking,  '  Who  goes  there  ? '  and  then  a 
trial  will  follow." 

"  I  will  ask  first,  '  Who  goes  there  ? ' ' 

"  But  if  drinking-men  are  passing,  and  hearing  a  woman's 
voice,  say  something  impolite  ?  " 

"  I  will  thunder  at  them  out  of  the  pistol !  Is  »'t  that 
right  ?  " 

"  Oh,  man,  to  take  such  a  water-burner  to  the  city !  I 
tell  you  that  you  are  not  to  fire  without  command." 


138  PAN  MICHAEL. 

"  I  will  inquire,  '  Who  goes  there  ? '  but  so  roughly  that 
they  will  not  know  me." 

"Let  it  be  so,  then.  Ha!  I  hear  them  approaching 
already.  You  may  be  sure  that  they  are  solid  people,  for 
scoundrels  would  attack  us  unawares  from  the  ditch." 

Since  ruffians,  however,  really  did  infest  the  roads,  and 
adventures  were  heard  of  not  infrequently,  Zagloba  com- 
manded the  driver  not  to  go  among  the  trees  which  stood  in 
darkness  at  the  turn  of  the  road,  but  to  halt  in  a  well- 
lighted  place.  Meanwhile  the  four  horsemen  had  ap- 
proached a  number  of  yards.  Then  Basia,  assuming  a  bass 
voice,  which  to  her  seemed  worthy  of  a  dragoon,  inquired 
threateningly,  — 

"  Who  goes  there  ?  " 

"  Why  have  you  stopped  on  the  road  ?  "  asked  one  of  the 
horsemen,  who  thought  evidently  that  they  must  have 
broken  some  part  of  the  carriage  or  the  harness. 

At  this  voice  Basia  dropped  her  pistol  and  said  hurriedly 
to  Zagloba,  "  Indeed,  that  is  uncle.  Oh, -for  God's  sake  ! " 

"What  uncle?" 

"  Makovetski." 

"  Hei  there ! "  cried  Zagloba ;  "  and  are  you  not  Pan 
Makovetski  with  Pan  Volodyovski  ?  " 

"  Pan  Zagloba !  "  cried  the  little  knight. 

"Michael!" 

Here  Zagloba  began  to  put  his  legs  over  the  edge  of  the 
carriage  with  great  haste ;  but  before  he  could  get  one  of 
them  over,  Volodyovski  had  sprung  from  his  horse  and  was 
at  the  side  of  the  equipage.  Recognizing  Basia  by  the 
light  of  the  moon,  he  seized  her  by  both  hands  and  cried,  — 

"  I  greet  you  with  all  my  heart !  And  where  is  Panna 
Krysia,  and  sister  ?  Are  all  in  good  health  ?  " 

"  In  good  health,-  thank  God !  So  you  have  come  at  last ! " 
said  Basia,  with  a  beating  heart.  "  Is  uncle  here  too  ?  Oh, 
uncle ! " 

When  she  had  said  this,  she  seized  by  the  neck  Pan 
Makovetski,  who  had  just  come  to  the  carriage ;  and  Za- 
globa opened  his  arms  meanwhile  to  Pan  Michael.  After 
long  greetings  came  the  presentation  of  Pan  Makovetski  to 
Zagloba;  then  the  two  travellers  gave  their  horses  to 
attendants  and  took  their  places  in  the  carriage.  Mako- 
vetski and  Zagloba  occupied  the  seat  of  honor ;  Basia  and 
Pan  Michael  sat  in  front. 

Brief  questions  and  brief  answers  followed,  as  happens 


PAN  MICHAEL.  139 

usually  when  people  meet  after  a  long  absence.  Pan  Mako- 
vetski  inquired  about  his  wife  ;  Pan  Michael  once  more 
about  the  health  of  Panha  Krysia;  then  he  wondered  at 
Ketling's  approaching  departure,  but  he  had  not  time  to 
dwell  on  that,  for  he  was  forced  at  once  to  tell  of  what  he 
had  done  in  the  border  stanitsa,  how  he  had  attacked  the 
ravagers  of  the  horde,  how  he  was  homesick,  but  how 
wholesome  it  was  to  taste  his  old  life. 

"It  seemed  to  me,"  said  the  little  knight,  "that  the 
Lubni  times  had  not  passed ;  that  we  were  still  together 
with  Pan  Yan  and  Kushel  and  Vyershul ;  only  when  they 
brought  me  a  pail  of  water  for  washing,  and  gray-haired 
temples  were  seen  in  it,  could  a  man  remember  that  he 
was  not  the  same  as  in  old  times,  though,  on  the  other  hand, 
it  came  to  my  mind  that  while  the  will  was  the  same  the 
man  was  the  same." 

"  You  have  struck  the  point !  "  replied  Zagloba ;  "  it  is 
clear  that  your  wit  has  recovered  on  fresh  grass,  for 
hitherto  you  were  not  so  quick.  Will  is  the  main  thing, 
and  there  is  no  better  drug  for  melancholy." 

"That  is  true,  —  is  true,"  added  Pan  Makovetski.  " There 
is  a  legion  of  well-sweeps  in  Michael's  stanitsa,  for  there  is 
a  lack  of  spring  water  in  the  neighborhood.  I  tell  you, 
sir,  that  when  the  soldiers  begin  to  make  those  sweeps 
squeak  at  daybreak,  your  grace  would  wake  up  with  such  a 
will  that  you  would  thank  God  at  once  for  this  alone,  that 
you  were  living." 

"  Ah,  if  I  could  only  be  there  for  even  one  day ! "  cried 
Basia. 

"  There  is  one  way  to  go  there,"  said  Zagloba,  —  "  marry 
the  captain  of  the  guard." 

"  Pan  Adam  will  be  captain  sooner  or  later,"  put  in  the 
little  knight. 

"  Indeed  ! "  cried  Basia,  in  anger ;  "  I  have  not  asked  you 
to  bring  me  Pan  Adam  instead  of  a  present." 

"I  have  brought  something  else,  nice  sweetmeats.  They 
will  be  sweet  for  Panna  Basia,  and  it  is  bitter  there  for 
that  poor  fellow." 

"  Then  you  should  have  given  him  the  sweets ;  let  him 
eat  them  while  his  mustaches  are  coming  out." 

"  Imagine  to  yourself,"  said  Zagloba  to  Pan  Makovetski, 
"these  two  are  always  in  that  way.  Luckily  the  proverb 
says,  '  Those  who  wrangle,  end  in  love.' " 

Basia  made  no  reply  ;  but  Pan  Michael,  as  if  waiting  for 


140  PAN  MICHAEL. 

an  answer,  looked  at  her  small  face  shone  upon  by  the 
bright  light.  It  seemed  to  him  so  shapely  that  he  thought 
in  spite  of  himself,  "But  that  rogue  is  so  pretty  that  she 
might  destroy  •  one's  eyes." 

Evidently  something  else  must  have  come  to  his  mind  at 
once,  for  he  turned  to  the  driver  and  said,  "  Touch  up  the 
horses  there  with  a  whip,  and  drive  faster." 

The  carriage  rolled  on  quickly  after  those  words,  so 
quickly  that  the  travellers  sat  in  silence  for  some  time';  and 
only  when  they  came  upon  the  sand  did  Pan  Michael  speak 
again :  "  But  the  departure  of  Ketling  surprises  me.  And 
that  it  should  happen  to  him,  too,  just  before  my  coming  and 
before  the  election." 

"  The  English  think  as  much  of  our  election  as  they  do  of 
your  coming,"  answered  Zagloba.  "  Ketling  himself  is  cut 
from  his  feet  because  he  must  leave  us." 

Basia  had  just  on  her  tongue,  "Especially  Krysia,"  but 
something  reminded  her  not  to  mention  this  matter  nor  the 
recent  resolution  of  Krysia.  With  the  instinct  of  a  woman 
she  divined  that  the  one  and  the  other  might  touch  Pan 
Michael  at  the  outset ;  as  to  pain,  something  pained  her, 
therefore  in  spite  of  all  her  impulsiveness  she  held 
silence. 

"  Of  Krysia's  intentions  he  will  know  anyhow,"  thought 
she ;  "  but  evidently  it  is  better  not  to  speak  of  them  now, 
since  Pan  Zagloba  has  not  mentioned  them  with  a  word." 

Pan  Michael  turned  again  to  the  driver,  "But  drive 
faster  ! " 

"  We  left  our  horses  and  things  at  Praga,"  said  Pan  Mako- 
vetski  to  Zagloba,  "and  set  out  with  two  men,  though  it 
was  nightfall,  for  Michael  and  I  were  in  a  terrible  hurry." 

"I  believe  it,"  answered  Zagloba.  "  Do  you  see  what 
throngs  have  come  to  the  capital?  Outside  the  gates  are 
camps  and  markets,  so  that  it  is  difficult  to  pass.  People 
tell  also  wonderful  things  of  the  coming  election,  which  I 
will  repeat  at  a  proper  time  in  the  house  to  you." 

Here  they  began  to  converse  about  politics.  Zagloba  was 
trying  to  discover  adroitly  Makovetski's  opinions ;  at  last  he 
turned  to  Pan  Michael  and  asked  without  ceremony,  "  And 
for  whom  will  you  give  your  vote,  Michael  ?  " 

But  Pan  Michael,  instead  of  an  answer,  started  as  if 
roused  from  sleep,  and  said,  "  I  am  curious  to  know  if  they 
are  sleeping,  and  if  we  shall  see  them  to-day  ?  " 

"  They  are  surely  sleeping,"  answered  Basia,  with  a  sweet 


TAN   MICHAEL.  141 

and  as  it  were  drowsy  voice.  "But  they  will  wake  and 
come  surely  to  greet  you  and  uncle." 

"  Do  you  think  so  ?  "  asked  the  little  knight,  with  joy  ; 
and  again  he  looked  at  Basia,  and  again  thought  involunta- 
rily, "  But  that  rogue  is  charming  in  this  moonlight." 

They  were  near  Ketling's  house  now,  and  arrived  in 
a  short  time.  Pani  Makovetski  and  Krysia  were  asleep;  a 
few  of  the  servants  were  up,  waiting  with  supper  for  Basia 
and  Pan  Zagloba.  All  at  once  there  was  no  small  movement 
in  the  house ;  Zagloba  gave  command  to  wake  more  servants 
to  prepare  warm  food  for  the  guests. 

Pan  Makovetski  wished  to  go  straightway  to  his  wife  ; 
but  she  had  heard  the  unusual  noise,  and  guessing  who  had 
come,  ran  down  a  moment  later  with  her  robe  thrown 
around  her,  panting,  with  tears  of  joy  in  her  eyes,  and  lips 
full  of  smiles ;  greetings  began,  embraces  and  conversation, 
interrupted  by  exclamations. 

Pan  Michael  was  looking  continually  at  the  door,  through 
which  Basia  had  vanished,  and  in  which  he  hoped  any 
moment  to  see  Krysia,  the  beloved,  radiant  with  quiet  joy, 
bright,  witli  gleaming  eyes,  and  hair  twisted  up  in  a  hurry  ; 
meanwhile,  the  Dantzig  clock  standing  in  the  dining-room 
ticked  and  ticked,  an  hour  passed,  supper  was  brought,  and 
the  maiden  beloved  and  dear  to  Pan  Michael  did  not  appear 
in  the  room. 

At  last  Basia  came  in,  but  alone,  serious  somehow,  and 
gloomy  ;  she  approached  the  table,  and  taking  a  light  in  her 
hand,  turned  to  Pan  Makovetski:  "Krysia  is  somewhat  un- 
Avell,  and  will  not  come  ;  but  she  begs  uncle  to  come,  even 
near  the  door,  so  that  she  may  greet  him.'' 

ran  Makovetski  rose  Jit  once  and  went  out,  followed  by 
Basia. 

The  little  knight  became  terribly  gloomy  and  said,  "I  did 
not  think  that  I  should  fail  to  see  Panna  Krysia  to-night. 
Is  she  really  ill  ?  " 

"Ei!  she  is  well,"  answered  his  sister;  "but  people  are 
nothing  to  her  now." 

"  Why  is  that  ?  " 

"  Then  has  his  grace,  Pan  Zagloba,  not  spoken  of  her 
intention  ?  " 

"Of  what  intention,  by  the  .vounds  of  God?" 

"  She  is  going  to  a  convent." 

Pan  Michael  began  to  blink  like  a  man  who  has  not  heard 
all  that  is  said  to  him;  then  he  changed  in  the  face,  stood 


142  PAN  MICHAEL. 

up,  sat  down  again.  In  one  moment  sweat  covered  his  face 
with  drops  ;  then  he  began  to  wipe  it  with  his  palms.  In 
the  room  there  was  deep  silence. 

"  Michael !  "  said  his  sister. 

But  he  looked  confusedly  now  on  her,  now  on  Zagloba, 
and  said  at  last  in  a  terrible  voice,  "  Is  there  some  curse 
hanging  over  me  ?  " 

"  Have  God  in  your  heart !  "  cried  Zagloba. 


PAN   MICHAEL.  143 


CHAPTER  XIX 

ZAGLOBA  and  Paul  Makovetski  divined  by  that  exclama- 
tion the  secret  of  the  little  knight's  heart ;  and  when  he 
sprang  up  suddenly  and  left  the  room,  they  looked  at  each 
other  with  amazement  and  disquiet,  till  at  last  the  lady 
said,  "  For  God's  sake  go  after  him  !  persuade  him  ;  comfort 
him  ;  if  not,  I  will  go  myself." 

"  Do  not  do  that,"  said  Zagloba.  "  There  is  no  need  of  us 
there,  but  Krysia  is  needed ;  if  he  cannot  see  her,  it  is  bet- 
ter to  leave  him  alone,  for  untimely  comforting  leads  people 
to  still  greater  despair." 

"I  see  now,  as  on  my  palm,  that  he  was  inclined  to 
Krysia.  See,  I  knew  that  he  liked  her  greatly  and  sought 
her  company  ;  but  that  he  was  so  lost  in  her  never  came  to 
my  head." 

"  It  must  be  that  he  returned  with  a  proposition  ready,  in 
which  he  saw  his  own  happiness  ;  meanwhile  a  thunderbolt, 
as  it  were,  fell." 

"  Why  did  he  speak  of  this  to  no  one,  neither  to  me,  nor 
to  you,  nor  to  Krysia  herself  ?  Maybe  the  girl  would  not 
have  made  her  vow." 

"It  is  a  wonderful  thing,"  said  Zagloba;  "besides,  he  con- 
fides in  me,  and  trusts  my  head  more  than  his  own  ;  and  not 
merely  has  he  not  acknowledged  this  affection  to  me,  but 
even  said  once  that  it  was  friendship,  nothing  more." 

"  He  was  always  secretive." 

"Then  though  you  are  his  sister,  you  don't  know  him. 
His  heart  is  like  the  eyes  of  a  sole,  on  top.  I  have  never 
met  a  more  outspoken  man  ;  but  I  admit  that  he  has  acted 
differently  this  time.  Are  you  sure  that  he  said  nothing  to 
Krysia  ?  " 

"  God  of  power  !  Krysia  is  mistress  of  her  own  will,  for 
my  husband  as  guardian  has  said  to  her,  '  If  the  man  is 
worthy  and  of  honorable  blood,  you  may  overlook  his  prop- 
erty.' If  Michael  had  spoken  to  her  before  his  departure, 
she  would  have  answered  yes  or  no,  and  he  would  have 
known  what  to  look  for." 

"True,  because  this  1ms  struck  him  unexpectedly.  Now 
give  your  woman's  wit  to  this  business." 


144  PAN  MICHAEL. 

"  What  is  wit  here  ?     Help  is  needed." 

"  Let  him  take  Basia." 

"  But  if,  as  is  evident,  he  prefers  that  one  —  Ha !  if 
this  had  only  come  into  my  head." 

"  It  is  a  pity  that  it  did  not." 

"  How  could  it  when  it  did  not  enter  the  head  of  such  a 
Solomon  as  you  ?  " 

"  And  how  do  you  know  that  ?  " 

"  You  advised  Ketling." 

"I  ?  God  is  my  witness,  I  advised  no  man.  I  said  that 
he  was  inclined  to  her,  and  it  was  true ;  I  said  that  he  was 
a  worthy  cavalier,  for  that  was  and  is  true ;  but  I  leave 
match-making  to  women.  My  lady,  as  things  are,  half 
the  Commonwealth  is  resting  on  my  head.  Have  I  even 
time  to  think  of  anything  but  public  affairs?  Often  1 
have  not  a  minute  to  put  a  spoonful  of  food  in  my 
mouth." 

"  Advise  us  this  time,  for  God's  mercy !  All  around  I 
hear  only  this,  that  there  is  no  head  beyond  yours." 

" People  are  talking  of  this  head  of  mine  without  ceasing; 
they  might  rest  awhile.  As  to  counsels,  there  are  two : 
either  let  Michael  take  Basia,  or  let  Krysia  change  her 
intention ;  an  intention  is  not  a  vow." 

Now  Pan  Makovetski  came  in ;  his  wife  told  him  every- 
thing straightway.  The  noble  was  greatly  grieved,  for  he 
loved  Pan  Michael  uncommonly  and  valued  him  ;  but  for 
the  time  he  could  think  out  nothing. 

"  If  Krysia  will  be  obstinate,"  said  he,  rubbing  his  fore- 
head, "  how  can  you  use  even  arguments  in  such  an  affair  ?  " 

"  Krysia  will  be  obstinate ! "  said  Pani  Makovetski. 
"Krysia  has  always  been  that  way." 

"  What  was  in  Michael's  head  that  he  did  not  make  sure 
before  departing  ?  "  asked  Pan  Makovetski.  "  As  he  left 
matters,  something  worse  might  have  happened;  another 
might  have  won  the  girl's  heart  in  his  absence." 

"  In  that  case,  she  would  not  have  chosen  the  cloister  at 
once,"  said  Pani  Makovetski.  "  However,  she  is  free." 

"  True  !  "  answered  Makovetski. 

But  already  it  was  dawning  in  Zagloba's  head.  If  the 
secret  of  Krysia  and  Pan  Michael  had  been  known  to  him, 
all  would  have  been  clear  to  him  at  once  ;  but  without  that 
knowledge  it  was  really  hard  to  understand  anything.  Still, 
the  quick  wit  of  the  man  began  to  break  through  the  mist, 
and  to  divine  the  real  reason  and  intention  of  Krysia  and 


PAX    MICHAEL.  145 

the  despair  of  Pan  Michael.  After  a  while  he  felt  sure 
that  Ketliug  was  involved  in  what  had  happened.  His 
supposition  lacked  only  certainty ;  he  determined,  there- 
fore, to  go  to  Michael  and  examine  him  more  closely.  On 
the  road  alarm  seized  him,  for  he  thought  thus  to  himself,  — 

"There  is  much  of  my  work  in  this.  I  wanted  to  quaff 
mead  at  the  wedding  of  Basia  and  Michael ;  but  I  am  not 
sure  that  instead  of  mead,  I  have  not  provided  sour  beer, 
for  now  Michael  will  return  to  his  former  decision,  and 
imitating  Krysia,  will  put  on  the  habit." 

Here  a  chill  came  on  Zagloba ;  so  he  hastened  his  steps, 
and  in  a  moment  was  in  Fan  Michael's  room.  The  little 
knight  was  pacing  up  and  down  like  a  wild  beast  in  a  cage. 
His  forehead  was  terribly  wrinkled,  his  eyes  glassy ;  he  was 
suffering  dreadfully.  Seeing  Zagloba,  he  stopped  on  a 
sudden  before  him,  and  placing  his  hands  on  his  breast, 
cried,  — 

"Tell  me  the  meaning  of  all  this !  " 

"  Michael ! "  said  Zagloba,  "  consider  how  many  girls 
enter  convents  each  year;  it  is  a  common  thing.  Some 
go  in  spite  of  their  parents,  trusting  that  the  Lord  Jesus 
will  be  on  their  side ;  but  what  wonder  in  this  case,  when 
the  girl  is  free  ?  " 

"  There  is  no  longer  any  secret ! "  cried  Pan  Michael. 
"  She  is  not  free,  for  she  promised  me  her  love  and  hand 
before  I  left  here." 

"Ha  !  "  said  Zagloba  ;  "I  did  not  know  that." 

"It  is  true,"  repeated  the  little  knight. 

"  Maybe  she  will  listen  to  persuasion." 

"  She  cares  for  me  no  longer ;  she  would  not  see  me," 
cried  1  'an  Michael,  with  deep  sorrow.  "I  hastened  hither 
day  and  night,  and  she  does  not  even  want  to  see  me.  What 
have  I  done  ?  What  sins  are  weighing  on  me  that  the 
anger  of  God  pursues  me ;  that  the  wind  drives  me  like  a 
withered  leaf  ?  One  is  dead ;  another  is  going  to  the 
cloister.  God  Himself  took  both  from  me ;  it  is  clear 
that  I  am  accursed.  There  is  mercy  for  every  man,  there 
is  love  for  every  man,  except  me  alone." 

Zagloba  trembled  in  his  soul,  lest  the  little  knight,  carried 
away  by  sorrow,  might  begin  to  blaspheme  again,  as  once 
he  blasphemed  after  the  death  of  Anusia;  therefore,  to  turn 
his  mind  in  another  direction,  he  called  out,  "Michael,  do 
not  doubt  that  there  is  mercy  upon  you  also;  and  besides, 
you  cannot  know  what  is  waiting  for  you  to-morrow. 

10 


146  PAN  MICHAEL. 

Perhaps  that  same  Krysia,  remembering  your  loneliness, 
will  change  her  intention  and  keep  her  word  to  you. 
Secondly,  listen  to  me,  Michael.  Is  not  this  a  consolation 
that  God  Himself,  our  Merciful  Father,  takes  those  doves 
from  you,  and  not  a  man  walking  upon  the  earth  ?  Tell 
me  yourself  if  this  is  not  better  ?  " 

In  answer  the  little  knight's  mustaches  began  to  tremble 
terribly ;  the  noise  of  gritting  came  from  his  teeth,  and  he 
cried  with  a  suppressed  and  broken  voice,  "  If  it  were  a 
living  man !  Ha  !  Should  such  a  man  be  found,  I  would  — 
Vengeance  would  remain." 

"  But  -as  it  is,  prayer  remains,"  said  Zagloba.  "  Hear  me, 
old  friend;  no  man  will  give  you  better  counsel.  Maybe 
God  Himself  will  change  everything  yet  for  the  better.  I 
myself  —  you  know  —  wished  another  for  you ;  but  seeing 
your  pain,  I  suffer  together  with  you,  and  together  with  you 
will  pray  to  God  to  comfort  you,  and  incline  the  heart  of 
that  harsh  lady  to  you  again." 

When  he  had  said  this,  Zagloba  began  to  wipe  away  tears  ; 
they  were  tears  of  sincere  friendship  and  sorrow.  Had  it 
been  in  the  power  of  the  old  man,  he  would  have  undone  at 
that  moment  everything  that  he  had  done  to  set  Krysia 
aside,  and  would  have  been  the  first  to  cast  her  into  Pan 
Michael's  arms. 

"Listen,"  said  he,  after  a  while ;  "speak  once  more  with 
Krysia;  take  your  lament  to  her,  your  unendurable  pain, 
and  may  God  bless  you  !  •  The  heart  in  her  must  be  of  stone 
if  she  does  not  take  pity  on  you ;  but  I  hope  that  she  will. 
The  habit  is  a  praiseworthy  thing,  but  not  when  made  of 
injustice  to  others.  Tell  her  that.  You  will  see —  Ei, 
Michael,  to-day  you  are  weeping,  and  to-morrow  perhaps  we 
shall  be  drinking  at  the  betrothal.  I  am  sure  that  will  be 
the  outcome.  The  young  lady  grew  lonely,  and  therefore 
the  habit  came 'to  her  head.  She  will  go  to  a  cloister,  but 
to  one  in  which  you  will  be  ringing  for  the  christening. 
Perhaps  too  she  is  affected  a  little  with  hypochondria,  and 
mentioned  the  habit  only  to  throw  dust  in  our  eyes.  In 
every  case,  you  have  not  heard  of  the  cloister  from  her  own 
lips,  and  if  God  grants,  you  will  not.  Ha,  I  have  it !  You 
agreed  on  a  secret ;  she  did  not  wish  to  betray  it,  and  is 
throwing  a  blind  in  our  eyes.  As  true  as  life,  nothing 
else  but  woman's  cunning." 

Zagloba's  words  acted  like  balsam  on  the  suffering  heart 
of  Pan  Michael :  hope  entered  him  again ;  his  eyes  were 


PAN  MICHAEL.  147 

tilled  with  tears.  For  a  long  time  he  could  not  speak ;  but 
when  he  had  restrained  his  tears  he  threw  himself  into  the 
arms  of  his  friend  and  said,  "  But  will  it  be  as  you 
say  ?  " 

"  I  would  bend  the  heavens  for  you.  It  will  be  as  I  say  ! 
Do  you  remember  that  I  have  ever  been  a  false  prophet  ? 
Do  you  not  trust  in  my  experience  and  wit  ?  " 

"  You  cannot  even  imagine  how  I  love  that  lady.  Not 
that  I  have  forgotten  the  beloved  dead  one ;  I  pray  for  her 
every  day.  But  to  this  one  my  heart  has  grown  fixed  like 
fungus  to  a  tree ;  she  is  my  love.  What  have  I  thought  of 
her  away  off  there  in  the  grasses,  morning  and  evening  and 
midday  !  At  last  I  began  to  talk  to  myself,  since  I  had  no 
confidant.  As  God  is  dear  to  me,  when  I  had  to  chase  after 
the  horde  in  the  reeds,  I  was  thinking  of  her  when  rushing 
at  full  speed." 

"  I' believe  it.  From  weeping  for  a  certain  maiden  in  my 
youth  one  of  my  eyes  flowed  out,  and  what  of  it  did  not 
flow  out  was  covered  with  a  cataract." 

"Do  not  wonder;  I  came  here,  the  breath  barely  in  my 
body;  the  first  word  I  hear, — the  cloister.  But  still  I 
have  trust  in  persuasion  and  in  her  heart  and  her  word. 
How  did  you  state  it?  'A  habit  is  good' — but  made  of 
what  ?  " 

"  But  not  when  made  of  injustice  to  others." 

"  Splendidly  said  !  How  is  it  that  I  have  never  been  able 
to  make  maxims  ?  In  the  stanitsa  it  would  have  been  a  ready 
amusement.  Alarm  sits  in  me  continually,  but  you  have 
given  me  consolation.  I  agreed  with  her,  it  is  true,  that 
the  affair  should  remain  a  secret ;  therefore  it  is  likely 
that  the  maiden  might  speak  of  the  habit  only  for  appear- 
ance' sake.  You  brought  forward  another  splendid  argu- 
ment, but  I  cannot  remember  it.  You  have  given  me  great 
consolation." 

"  Then  come  to  me,  or  give  command  to  bring  the  decan- 
ter to  this  place.  It  is  good  after  the  journey." 

They  went,  and  sat  drinking  till  late  at  night. 

Next  day  Pan  Michael  arrayed  his  body  in  fine  garments 
and  his  face  in  seriousness,  armed  himself  with  all  the  argu- 
ments which  came  to  his  own  head,  and  with  those  which 
Zagloba  had  given  him ;  thus  equipped,  he  went  to  the 
dining-room,  where  all  met  usually  at  meal-time.  Of  the 
whole  company  only  Krysia  was  absent,  but  she  did  not  let 
people  wait  for  her  long  ;  barely  had  the  little  knight  swal- 


148  PAN  MICHAEL. 

lowed  two  spoonfuls  of  soup  when  through  the  open  door 
the  rustle  of  a  robe  was  heard,  and  the  maiden  came  in. 

She  entered  very  quickly,  rather  rushed  in.  Her  cheeks 
were  burning ;  her  lids  were  dropped  ;  in  her  face  were 
mingled  fear  and  constraint.  Approaching  Pan  Michael,  she 
gave  him  both  hands,  but  did  not  raise  her  eyes  at  all,  and 
when  he  began  to  kiss  those  hands  with  eagerness,  she  grew 
very  pale ;  besides,  she  did  not  find  one  word  for  greeting. 
But  his  heart  filled  with  love,  alarm,  and  rapture  at  sight  of 
her  face,  delicate  and  changeful  as  a  wonder-working  image, 
at  sight  of  that  form  shapely  and  beautiful,  from  which  the 
warmth  of  recent  sleep  was  still  beating ;  he  was  moved 
even  by  that  confusion  and  that  fear  depicted  in  her  face. 

"  Dearest  flower  !  "  thought  he,  in  his  soul,  "  why  do  you 
fear  ?  I  would  give  even  my  life  .and  blood  for  you."  But 
he  did  not  say  this  aloud,  he  only  pressed  his  pointed  mus- 
taches so  long  to  her  hands  that  red  traces  were  left  on  them. 
Basia,  looking  at  all  this,  gathered  over  her  forehead  her 
yellow  forelock  of  purpose,  so  that  no  one  might  notice 
her  emotion ;  but  no  one  gave  attention  to  her  at  that 
time ;  all  were  looking  at  the  pair,  and  a  vexatious  silence 
followed. 

Pan  Michael  interrupted  it  first.  "  The  night  passed  for 
me  in  grief  and  disquiet,"  said  he  ;  "  for  yesterday  I  saw 
all  except  you,  and  such  terrible  tidings  were  told  of  you 
that  I  was  nearer  to  weeping  than  to  sleep." 

Krysia,  hearing  such  outspoken  words,  grew  still  paler, 
so  that  for  a  while  Pan  Michael  thought  that  she  would 
faint,  and  said  hurriedly,  "  We  must  talk  of  this  matter ; 
but  now  I  will  ask  no  more,  so  that  you  may  grow  calm 
and  recover.  I  am  no  barbarian,  nor  am  I  a  wolf,  and  God 
sees  that  I  have  good-will  toward  you." 

"  Thank  you  !  "  whispered  Krysia. 

Zagloba,  Pan  Makovetski,  and  his  wife  began  to  exchange 
glances,  as  if  urging  one  another  to  begin  the  usual  conver- 
sation ;  but  for  a  long  time  no  one  was  able  to  venture  a 
word ;  at  last  Zagloba  began.  "  We  must  go  to  the  city 
to-day,"  said  he,  turning  to  the  newly  arrived.  "  It  is 
boiling  there  before  the  election,  as  in  a  pot,  for  every 
man  is  urging  his  own  candidate.  On  the  road,  I  will  tell 
you  to  whom,  in  my  opinion,  we  should  give  our  votes." 

No  one  answered,  therefore  Zagloba  cast  around  an  owl- 
ish eye ;  at  last  he  turned  to  Basia,  "  Well,  Maybug,  will 
you  go  with  us  ?  " 


PAN   MICHAEL.  14<) 

"I  will  go  even  to  Russia !  "  answered  Basia,  abruptly. 

And  silence  followed  again.  The  whole  meal  passed  in 
similar  attempts  to  begin  a  conversation  that  would  not 
begin.  At  last  the  company  rose.  Then  Fan  Michael 
approached  Krysia  at  once  and  said,  — 

"  I  must  speak  with  you  alone." 

He  gave  her  his  arm  and  conducted  her  to  the  adjoining 
room,  to  that  same  apartment  which  was  the  witness  of  their 
first  kiss.  Seating  Krysia  on  the  sofa,  he  took  his  place 
near  her,  and  began  to  stroke  her  hair  as  he  would  have 
stroked  the  hair  of  a  child. 

"  Krysia !  "  said  he,  at  last,  with  a  mild  voice.  "  Has 
your  confusion  passed  ?  Can  you  answer  me  calmly  and 
with  presence  of  mind  ?  " 

Her  confusion  had  passed,  and  besides,  she  was  moved 
by  his  kindness ;  therefore  she  raised  for  a  moment  her 
eyes  on  him  for  the  first  time  since  his  return.  "I  can," 
said  she,  in  a  low  voice. 

"Is  it  true  that  you  have  devoted  yourself  to  the 
cloister?" 

Krysia  put  her  hands  together  and  began  to  whisper 
imploringly,  "  Do  not  take  this  ill  of  me,  do  not  curse  me  ; 
but  it  is  true." 

"  Krysia !  "  said  the  knight,  "is  it  right  to  trample  on  the 
happiness  of  people,  as  you  are  trampling  ?  Where  is  your 
word,  where  .is  our  agreement  ?  I  cannot  war  with  God, 
but  I  will  tell  you,  to  begin  with,  what  Pan  Zagloba  told 
me  yesterday,  —  that  the  habit  should  not  be  made  of  injus- 
tice to  others.  You  wil]  not  increase  the  glory  of  God  by 
injustice  to  me.  God  reigns  over  the  whole  world  ;  His  are 
all  nations,  His  the  lands  and  the  sea  and  the  rivers,  the 
birds  of  the  air  and  the  beasts  of  the  forests,  the  sun  and 
the  stars.'  He  has  all.  whatsoever  may  come  to  the  mind  of 
man,  and  still  more ;  but  I  have  only  you,  beloved  and  dear ; 
you  are  my  happiness,  my  every  possession.  And  can  you 
suppose  that  the  Lord  God  needs  that  possession?  He, 
with  such  wealth,  to  tear  away  his  only  treasure  from  a  poor 
soldier  ?  Can  you  suppose  that  He  will  be  rejoiced,  and  not 
offended  ?  See  what  you  are  giving  Him,  — yourself.  But 
you  are.mine,  for  you  promised  yourself  to  me ;  therefore  you 
are  giving  Him  that  which  belongs  to  another,  that  which 
is  not  your  own  :  you  are  giving  Him  my  weeping,  my  pain, 
my  death.  Have  you  a  right  to  do  so  ?  Weigh  this  in 
vour  heart  and  in  your  mind ;  finally  ask  your  own  con- 


150  PAN   MICHAEL. 

science.  If  I  had  offended  you,  if  I  had  contemned  you  in 
love,  if  I  had  forgotten  you,  if  I  had  committed  crimes  or 
offences  —  ah,  I  will  not  speak  ;  I  will  not  speak.  But  I 
went  to  the  horde,  to  watch,  to  attack  ravagers,  to  serve 
the  country  with  my  blood,  with  my  health,  with  rny  time  ; 
and  I  loved  you,  I  thought  of  you  whole  days  and  nights, 
and  as  a  deer  longs  for  waters,  as  a  bird  for  the  air,  as  a  child 
for  its  mother,  as  a  parent  for  its  child,  was  I  longing  for 
you.  And  for  all  this  what  is  the  greeting,  what  the  reward, 
that  3rou  have  prepared  for  me  ?  Krysia  dearest,  my  friend, 
my  chosen  love,  tell  me  whence  is  all  this  ?  Give  me  your 
reasons  as  sincerely,  as  openly,  as  I  bring  before  you  my 
reasons  and  my  rights  ;  keep  faith  with  me ;  do  not  leave 
me  alone  with  misfortune.  You  gave  me  this  right  your- 
self ;  do  not  make  me  an  outlaw." 

The  unfortunate  Pan  Michael  did  not  know  that  there  is 
a  right  higher  and  older  than  all  other  human  rights,  in 
virtue  of  which  the  heart  must  and  does  follow  love  only  ; 
but  the  heart  which  ceases  to  love  commits  thereby  the 
deepest  perfidy,  though  often  with  as  much  innocence  as 
the  lamp  quenches  in  which  fire  has  burned  out  the  oil. 
Not  knowing  this,  Pan  Michael  embraced  Krysia's  knees, 
implored,  and  begged ;  but  she  answered  him  with  floods  of 
tears  only  because  she  could  not  answer  with  her  heart. 

"  Krysia,"  said.the  knight,  at  last,  while  rising,  "  in  your 
tears  my  happiness  may  drown  ;  and  I  do  not  implore  you 
for  that,  but  for  rescue." 

"  Do  not  ask  me  for  a  reason,"  answered  Krysia,  sobbing ; 
"  do  not  ask  for  a  cause,  since  it  must  be  this  way,  and 
cannot  be  otherwise.  I  am  not  worthy  of  such  a  man  as 
you,  and  I  have  never  been  worthy.  I  know  that  I  am 
doing  you  an  injustice,  and  that  pains  me  so  terribly  that, 
see  !  I  cannot  help  myself.  I  know  that  this  is  an  injustice. 
O  God  of  greatness,  my  heart  is  breaking !  Forgive  me ; 
do  not  leave  me  in  anger !  Pardon  me  ;  do  not  curse  me  !  " 
When  she  had  said  this,  Krysia  threw  herself  on  her  knees 
before  Pan  Michael.  "  I  know  that  I  am  doing  you  a 
wrong,  but  I  implore  of  you  condescension  and  pardon." 

Here  the  dark  head  of  Krysia  bent  to  the  floor.  Pan 
Michael  raised  in  one  moment  the  poor  weeping  maiden, 
and  placed  her  again  on  the  sofa ;  but  he  began  himself  to 
pace  up  and  down  in  the  room,  like  one  dazed.  At  times 
he  stopped  suddenly  and  pressed  his  fists  to  his  temples ; 
then  again  he  walked  ;  at  last  he  stood  before  Krysia. 


PAN   MICHAEL.  151 

"  Leave  yourself  time,  and  me  some  hope,"  said  he. 
"  Think  that  I  too  am  not  of  stone.  Why  press  red-hot 
iron  against  me  without  the  least  pity  ?  Even  though  I 
knew  not  my  own  endurance,  still  when  the  skin  hisses, 
pain  pierces  me.  I  cannot  tell  you  how  I  suffer,  —  as  God 
lives,  I  cannot.  I  am  a  simple  man ;  my  years  have  passed 
in  war.  Oh,  for  God's  sake !  0  dear  Jesus !  In  this 
same  room  our  love  began.  Krysia,  Krysia!  I  thought 
that  you  would  be  mine  for  life  ;  and  now  there  is  nothing, 
nothing !  What  has  taken  place  in  you  ?  Who  has 
changed  your  heart  ?  Krysia,  I  am  just  the  same.  And 
do  you  not  know  that  for  me  this  is  a  worse  blow  than  for 
another,  for  I  have  already  lost  one  love  ?  0  Jesus,  what 
shall  I  tell  her  to  move  her  heart  ?  A  man  only  torments 
himself,  that  is  all.  But  leave  me  even  hope  !  Do  not  take 
everything  away  at  one  time." 

Krysia  made  no  answer ;  but  sobbing  shook  her  more 
and  more ;  the  little  knight  stood  before  her,  restraining  at 
first  his  sorrow,  and  terrible  anger.  And  only  when  he 
had  broken  that  in  himself,  he  said, — 

"  Leave  me  even  hope  !     Do  you  hear  me  ?  " 

"  I  cannot !  I  cannot !  "  answered  Krysia. 

Pan  Michael  went  to  the  window  and  pressed  his  head 
against  the  cold  glass.  He  stood"  a  long  time  without 
motion  ;  at  last  he  turned,  and  advancing  a  couple  of  steps 
toward  Krysia,  he  said  in  a  very  low  voice,  — 

"  Farewell !  There  is  nothing  for  me  here.  Oh  that  it 
may  be  as  pleasant  for  you  as  it  is  grievous  for  me  !  Know 
this,  that  I  forgive  you  with  my  lips,  and  as  God  will  grant, 
I  will  forgive  you  with  my  heart  as  well.  But  have  more 
mercy  on  people's  suffering,  and  a  second  time  promise  not. 
It  cannot  be  said  that  I  take  happiness  with  me  from  these 
thresholds !  Farewell !  " 

When  Pan  Michael  had  said  this,  his  mustaches  quivered ; 
he  bowed,  and  went  out.  In  the  next  room  were.  Mako- 
vetski  and  his  wife  and  Zagloba;  they  sprang  up  at  once  as 
if  to  inquire,  but  he  only  waved  his  hand.  "All  to  no 
use  ! "  said  he.  u  Leave  me  in  peace  !  " 

From  that  room  a  narrow  corridor  led  to  his  own  cham- 
ber ;  in  that  corridor,  at  the  staircase  leading  to  the  young 
ladies'  rooms,  Basia  stopped  the  way  to  the  little  knight. 
"  May  God  console  you  and  change  Krysia's  heart ! " 
cried  she,  with  a  voice  trembling  from  tears. 

He  went  past  without  even  looking  at  her,  or  saying  a 


152  PAN  MICHAEL. 

word.  Suddenly  wild  anger  bore  him  away ;  bitterness 
rose  in  his  breast ;  he  turned,  therefore,  and  stood  before 
the  innocent  Basia  with  a  face  changed  and  full  of  deri- 
sion. "  Promise  your  hand  to  Ketling,"  said  he,  hoarsely, 
"  then  cease  to  love  him,  trample  on  his  heart,  rend  it,  and 
go  to  the  cloister  !  " 

"  Pan  Michael ! "  cried  Basia,  in  amazement. 

"Enjoy  yourself,  taste  kisses,  and  then  go  to  repent! 
Would  to  God  that  you  both  were  killed  ! " 

That  was  too  much  for  Basia.  God  alone  knew  how 
much  she  had  wrestled  with  herself  for  this  wish  which 
she  had  given  Pan  Michael,  —  that  God  might  change 
Krysia's  heart,  —  and  in  return  an  unjust  condemnation 
had  met  her,  derision,  insult,  just  at  the  moment  in  which 
she  would  have  given  her  blood  to  comfort  the  thankless 
man.  Therefore  her  soul  stormed  up  in  her  as  quickly  as 
a  flame ;  her-  cheeks  burned ;  her  nostrils  dilated ;  and 
without  an  instant's  thought,  she  cried,  shaking  her  yellow 
hair,  — 

"  Know,  sir,  that  /  am  not  the  one  who  is  going  to  the 
cloister  for  Ketling  ! " 

When  she  had  said  this,  she  sprang  on  the  stairs  and 
vanished  from  before  the  eyes  of  the  knight.  He  stood 
there  like  a  stone  pillar  ;  after  a  while  he  began  to  rub  his 
eyes  like  a  man  who  is  waking  from  sleep. 

Then  he  was  thirsting  for  blood ;  he  seized  his  sabre,  and 
cried  with  a  terrible  voice,  "  Woe  to  the  traitor  !  " 

A  quarter  of  an  hour  later  Pan  Michael  was  rushing 
toward  Warsaw  so  swiftly  that  the  wind  was  howling  in 
his  ears,  and  lumps  of  earth  were  flying  in  a  shower  from 
the  hoofs  of  his  horse. 


PAN   MICHAEL.  153 


CHAPTER  XX. 

PAX  MAKOVETSKI,  with  his  wife  and  Zagloba,  saw  Pan 
Michael  riding  away,  and  alarm  seized  all  hearts ;  therefore 
they  asked  one  another  with  their  eyes,  "What  has 
happened ;  where  is  he  going  ?  " 

"  Great  God  !  "  cried  Pani  Makovetski ;  "  he  will  go  to 
the  Wilderness,  and  we  shall  never  see  him  again  in  life  ! " 

"  Or  to  the  cloister,  like  that  crazy  woman,"  said  Zagloba, 
in  despair. 

"  Counsel  is  necessary  here,"  said  Makovetski. 

With  that  the  door  opened  and  Basia  burst  into  the 
room  like  a  whirlwind,  excited,  pale,  with  fingers  in  both 
her  eyes ;  stamping  in  the  middle  of  the  floor,  like  a  little 
child,  she  began  to  scream,  "  Eescue  !  save  !  Pan  Michael 
has  gone  to  kill  Ketling!  -Whoso  believes  in  God,  let  him 
fly  to  stop  him  !  Rescue  !  rescue  !  " 

"  What  is  the  matter,  girl  ?  "  cried  Zagloba,  seizing  her 
hands. 

"  Rescue  !  Pan  Michael  will  kill  Ketling  !  Through  me 
blood  will  be  shed,  and  Krysia  will  die,  all  through  me ! " 

•  "  Speak ! ."   cried  Zagloba,  shaking   her.     "  How  do  you 
know  ?     Why  is  it  through  you  ?  " 

"  Because  I  told  him  in  anger  that  they  love  each  other ; 
that  Krysia  is  going  behind  the  grating  for  Ketling's  sake. 
WThoso  believes  in  God,  stop  them  !  Go  quickly ;  go  all  of 
you !  Let  us  all  go  !  " 

Zagloba,  not  wont  to  lose  time  in  such  cases,  rushed  to 
the  yard  and  gave  command  to  bring  the  carriage  out  at 
once.  Pani  Makovetski  wished  to  ask  Basia  about  the 
astonishing  news,  for  up  to  that  moment  she  had  not  sus- 
pected the  love  between  Krysia  and  Ketling ;  but  Basia 
rushed  after  Zagloba  to  look  to  the  harnessing  of  the  horses. 
She  helped  to  load  out  the  beasts  and  attach  them  to  the 
carriage ;  at  last,  though  bareheaded,  she  mounted  the 
driver's  seat  before  the  entrance,  where  two  men  were  wait- 
ing and  already  dressed  for  the  road. 
"Come  down  !  "  said  Zagloba  to  her. 
"  I  will  not  come  down  !  Take  your  seats  ;  you  must  take 
your  seats ;  if  not,  I  will  go  alone  ! "  So  saying,  she  took 


154  PAN   MICHAEL. 

the  reins,  and  they,  seeing  that  the  stubbornness  of  the  girl 
might  cause  a  considerable  delay,  ceased  to  ask  her  to  come 
down. 

Meanwhile  the  servant  ran  up  with  a  whip-  and  Pani 
Makovetski  succeeded  in  bringing  out  a  shuba  and  cap  to 
Basia,  for  the  day  was  cold.  Then  they  moved  on.  Basia 
remained  on  the  driver's  seat.  Zagloba,  wishing  to  speak 
with  her,  asked  her  to  sit  on  the  front  seat ;  but  she  was 
unwilling,  it  may  be  through  fear  of  being  scolded.  Zagloba 
therefore  had  to  inquire  from  a  distance,  and  she  answered 
without  turning  her  head. 

"How  do  you  know,"  asked  he,  "that  which  you  told 
your  uncle  about  those  two  ?  " 

"  I  know  all." 

"  Did  Krysia  tell  you  ?  " 

"  Krysia  told  me  nothing." 

"Then  maybe  the  Scot  did  ?  " 

"No,  but  I  know;  and  that  is  why  he  is  going  to  Eng- 
land. He  fooled  everybody  but  me." 

"A  wonderful  thing  !  "  said  Zagloba. 

"  This  is  your  work,"  said  Basia ;  "  you  should  not  have 
pushed  them  against  each  other." 

"  Sit  there  in  quiet,  and  do  not  thrust  yourself  into 
what  does  not  belong  to  you,"  answered  Zagloba,  who  was 
struck  to  the  quick  because  this  reproach  was  made  in 
presence  of  Makovetski.  Therefore  he  added  after  a  while, 
"  I  push  anybody  !  I  advise  !  Look  at  that !  I  like  such 
suppositions." 

"  Ah,  ha !  do  you  think  you  did  not  ? "  retorted  the 
maiden. 

They  went  forward  in  silence.  Still,  Zagloba  could  not 
free  himself  from  the  thought  that  Basia  was  right,  and 
that  he  was  in  great  part  the  cause  of  all  that  had  happened. 
That  thought  grieved  him  not  a  little ;  and  since  the  car- 
riage jolted  unmercifully,  the  old  noble  fell  into  the  worst 
humor  and  did  not  spare  himself  reproaches. 

"  It  would  be  the  proper  thing,"  thought  he,  "  for 
Michael  and  Ketling  to  cut  off  my  ears  in  company.  To 
make  a  man  marry  against  his  will  is  the  same  as  to  com- 
mand him  to  ride  with  his  face  to  a  horse's  tail.  That  fly 
is  right !  If  those  men  have  a  duel,  Ketling's  blood  will  be 
on  me.  What  kind  of  business  have  I  begun  in  my  old  age ! 
Tfu,  to  the  Devil !  Besides,  they  almost  fooled  me,  for  I 
barely  guessed  why  Ketling  was  going  beyond  the  sea  —  and 


PAN   MICHAEL.  155 

that  daw  to  the  cloister ;  meanwhile  the  haiduk  had  long 
before  found  out  everything,  as  it  seems."  Here  Zagloba 
meditated  a  little,  and  after  a  while  muttered,  "  A  rogue, 
not  a  maiden  !  Michael  borrowed  eyes  from  a  crawfish  to 
put  aside  such  as  she  for  that  doll !  " 

Meanwhile  they  had  arrived  at  the  city ;  but  there  their 
troubles  began  really.  None  of  them  knew  where  Ketling 
was  lodging,  or  where  Pan  Michael  might  go ;  to  look  for 
either  was  like  looking  for  a  particular  poppy-seed  in  a 
bushel  of  poppy-seeds.  They  went  first  to  the  grand  het- 
man's.  People  told  them  there  that  Ketling  was  to  start 
that  morning  on  a  journey  beyond  the  sea.  Pan  Michael 
had  come,  inquired  about  the  Scot,  but  whither  the  little 
knight  had  gone,  no  one  knew.  It  was  supposed  that  he 
might  have  gone  to  the  squadron  stationed  in  the  field 
behind  the  city. 

Zagloba  commanded  to  return  to  the  camp ;  but  there  it 
was  impossible  to  find  an  informant.  They  went  to  every 
inn  on  Dluga  Street ;  they  went  to  Praga.;  all  was  in  vain. 
Meanwhile  night  fell ;  and  since  an  inn  was  not  to  be 
thought  of,  they  were  forced  to  go  home.  They  went  back 
in  tribulation.  Basia  cried  some ;  the  pious  Makovetski 
repeated  a  prayer ;  Zagloba  was  really  alarmed.  He  tried, 
however,  to  cheer  himself  and  the  company. 

"  Ha !  "  said  he,  "  we  are  distressed,  and  perhaps  Michael 
is  already  at  home." 

"  Or  killed*!  "  said  Basia.  And  she  began  to  wail  there 
in  the  carriage,  repeating,  "  Cut  out  my  tongue  !  It  was  my 
fault,  my  fault !  Oh,  I  shall  go  mad !  " 

"  Quiet  there,  girl !  the  fault  is  not  yours,"  said  Zagloba; 
"and  know  this,  —  if  any  man  is  killed,  it  is  not  Michael." 

"But  I  am  sorry  for  the  other.  We  have  paid  him 
handsomely  for  his  hospitality  ;  there  is  nothing  to  be  said 
on  that  point.  O  God,  0  God ! " 

"  That  is  the  truth  !  "  added  Pan  Makovetski. 

"  Let  that  rest,  for  God's  sake  !  Ketling  is  surely  nearer 
to  Prussia  than  to  Warsaw  by  this  time.  You  heard  that 
he  is  going  away ;  I  have  hope  in  God  too,  that  should  be 
meet  Volodyovski  they  will  remember  old  friendship,  ser- 
vice rendered  together.  They  rode  stirrup  to  stirrup  ;  they 
slept  on  one  saddle  ;  they  went  together  on  scouting  expedi- 
tions ;  they  dipped  their  hands  in  one  blood.  In  the  whole 
array  their  friendship  was  so  famous  that  Ketling,  by  reason 
of  his  beauty,  was  called  Volodyovski's  wife.  It  is  impos- 


156  PAN  MICHAEL. 

sible  that  this  should  not  come  to  their  minds  when  they  see 
each  other." 

"  Still,  it  is  this  way  sometimes,"  said  the  discreet  Mako- 
vetski,  "  that  just  the  warmest  friendship  turns  to  the 
fiercest  animosity.  So  it  was  in  our  place  when  Pan  Deyma 
killed  Pan  Ubysh,  with  whom  he  had  lived  twenty  years  in 
the  greatest  agreement.  I  can  describe  to  you  that  un- 
happy event  in  detail." 

"  If  my  mind  were  more  at  ease,  I  would  listen  to  you  as 
gladly  as  I  do  to  her  grace,  my  benefactress,  your  grace's 
spouse,  who  has  the  habit  also  of  giving  details,  not 
excepting  genealogies  ;  but  what  you  say  of  friendship  and 
animosity  has  stuck  in  my  head.  God  forbid  !  God  forbid 
that  it  should  come  true  this  time  !  " 

"One  was  Pan  Deyma,  the  other  Pan  Ubysh.  Both 
worthy  men  and  fellow-soldiers  — 

"  Oi,  oi,  oi !  "  said  Zagloba,  gloomily.  "  We  trust  in  the 
mercy  of  God  that  it  will  not  come  true  this  time  ;  but  if  it 
does,  Ketling  will  be  the  corpse." 

"  Misfortune ! "  said  Makovetski,  after  a  moment  of 
silence.  "  Yes,  yes  !  Deyma  and  Ubysh.  I  remember  it  as 
if  to-day.  And  it  was  a  question  also  of  a  woman." 

"Eternally  those  women  !  The  first  daw  that  comes  will 
brew  such  beer  for  you  that  whoever  drinks  will  not  digest 
it,"  muttered  Zagloba. 

"  Don't  attack  Krysia,  sir  !  "  cried  Basia,  suddenly. 

"Oh,  if  Pan  Michael  had  only  fallen  in  love  with  you, 
none  of  this  would  have  happened  !  " 

Thus  conversing,  they  reached  the  house.  Their  hearts 
beat  on  seeing  lights  in  the  windows,  for  they  thought  that 
Pan  Michael  had  returned,  perhaps.  But  Pani  Makovetski 
alone  received  them ;  she  was  alarmed  and  greatly  con- 
cerned. On  learning  that  all  their  searching  had  resulted 
in  nothing,  she  covered  herself  with  bitter  tears  and  began 
to  complain  that  she  should  never  see  her  brother  again. 
Basia  seconded  her  at  once  in  these  lamentations.  Zagloba 
too  was  unable  to  master  his  grief. 

"  I  will  go  again  to-morrow  before  daylight,  but  alone," 
said  he ;  "I  may  be  able  to  learn  something." 

"  We  can  search  better  in  company,"  put  in  Makovetski. 

"  No  ;  let  your  grace  remain  with  the  ladies.  If  Ketling 
is  alive,  I  will  let  you  know." 

"For  God's  sake!  We  are  living  in  the  house  of  that 
man!"  said  Makovetski.  "We  must  find  an  inn  somehow 


PAN   MICHAEL.  157 

to-morrow,  or  even  pitch  teats  in  the  field,  only  not  to  live 
longer  here." 

"  Wait  for  news  from  me,  or  we  shall  lose  each  other," 
said  Zagloba.  "  If  Ketliug  is  killed  —  " 

"  Speak  more  quietly,  by  Christ's  wounds ! "  said  Pani 
Makovetski,  "for  the  servants  will  hear  and  tell  Krysia; 
she  is  barely  alive  as  it  is." 

"  I  will  go  to  her,"  said  Basia. 

And  she  sprang  upstairs.  Those  below  remained  in 
anxiety  and  fear.  No  one  slept  in  the  whole  house.  The 
thought  that  maybe  Ketling  was  already  a  corpse  filled 
their  hearts  with  terror.  In  addition,  the  night  became 
close,  dark;  thunder  began  to  roar  and  roll  through  the 
heavens ;  and  later  bright  lightning  rent  the  sky  each 
moment.  About  midnight  the  first  storm  of  the  spring 
began  to  rage  over  the  earth.  .Even  the  servants  woke. 

Krysia  and  Basia  went  from  their  chamber  to  the  dining- 
room.  There  the  whole  company  prayed  and  sat  in  silence, 
repeating  in  chorus,  after  each  clap  of  thunder,  "  And  the 
Word  was  made  flesh  !  "  In  the  whistling  of  the  whirlwind 
was  heard  at  times,  as  it  were,  a  certain  horse-tramp,  and 
then  fear  and  terror  raised  the  hair  on  the  heads  of  Basia, 
Pani  Makovetski,  and  the  two  men  ;  for  it  seemed  to  them 
that  at  any  moment  the  door  might  open,  arid  Pan  Michael 
enter,  stained  with  Ketling's  blood.  The  usually  mild  Pan 
Michael,  for  the  first  time  in  his  life,  oppressed  people's 
hearts  like  a  stone,  so  that  the  very  thought  of  him  filled 
them  with  dread. 

However,  the  night  passed  without  news  of  the  little 
knight.  At  daylight,  when  the  storm  had  abated  in  a 
measure,  Zagloba  set  out  a  second  time  for  the  city.  That 
whole  day  was  a  day  of  still  greater  alarm.  Basia  sat  till 
evening  in  the  window  in  front  of  the  gate,  looking  at  the 
road  along  which  Pan  Zagloba  might  return. 

Meanwhile  the  servants,  at  command  of  Pan  Makovetski, 
were  packing  the  trunks  slowly  for  the  road.  Krysia  w;is 
occupied  in  directing  this  work,  for  thus  she  was  able  to 
hold  herself  at  a  distance  from  the  others.  For  though 
Pani  Makovetski  did  not  mention  Pan  Michael  in  the  young 
lady's  presence  even  by  one  word,  still  that  very  silence 
convinced  Krysia  that  Pan  Michael's  love  for  her,  their 
former  secret  engagement,  and  her  recent  refusal  had  been 
discovered ;  and  in  view  of  this,  it  was  difficult  to  suppose 
that  those  people,  the  nearest  to  Pan  Michael,  were  not 


158  I'AN  MICHAEL. 

offended  and  grieved.  Poor  Krysia  felt  that  it  must  be  so, 
that  it  was  so,  —  that  those  hearts,  hitherto  loving,  had 
withdrawn  from  her ;  therefore  she  wished  to  suffer  by 
herself. 

Toward  evening  the  trunks  were  ready,  so  that  it  was 
possible  to  move  that  very  day;  but  Pan  Makovetski  was 
waiting  yet  for  news  from  Zagloba.  Supper  was  brought ; 
no  one  cared  to  eat  it ;  and  the  evening  began  to  drag  along 
heavily,  insupportably,  and  as  silent  as  if  all  were  listening 
to  what  the  clock  was  whispering. 

"  Let  us  go  to  the  drawing-room,"  said  Pan  Makovetski, 
at  last.  "It  is  impossible  to  stay  here." 

They  went  and  sat  down ;  but  before  any  one  had  been 
able  to  speak  the  first  word,  the  dogs  were  heard  under  the 
window. 

"  Some  one  is  coming  !  "  cried  Basia. 

"  The  dogs  are  barking  as  if  at  people  of  the  house,"  said 
Pani  Makovetski. 

"Quiet!"  said  her  husband.  "There  is  a  rattling  of 
wheels  ! " 

"  Quiet ! "  repeated  Basia.  "  Yes ;  it  comes  nearer  every 
moment.  That  is  Pan  Zagloba." 

Basia  and  Pan  Makovetski  sprang  up  and  ran  out.  Pani 
Makovetski's  heart  began  to  throb  ;  but  she  remained  with 
Krysia,  so  as  not  to  show  by  great  haste  that  Pan  Zagloba 
was  bringing  news  of  exceeding  importance.  Meanwhile 
the  sound  of  wheels  was  heard  right  under  the  window,  and 
then  stopped  on  a  sudden.  Voices  were  heard  at  the 
entrance,  and  after  a  while  Basia  rushed  into  the  room  like 
a  hurricane,  and  with  a  face  as  changed  as  if  she  had  seen 
an  apparition. 

"  Basia,  who  is  that  ?  Who  is  that  ?  "  asked  Pani  Mako- 
vetski, with  astonishment. 

But  before  Basia  could  regain  her  breath  and  give  answer, 
the  door  opened ;  through  it  entered  first  Pan  Makovetski, 
then  Pan  Michael,  and  last  Ketling. 


PAN   MICHAEL. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

KETLING  was  so  changed  that  he  was  barely  able  to  make 
a  low  obeisance  to  the  ladies;  then  he  stood  motionless, 
with  his  hat  at  his  breast,  with  his  eyes  closed,  like  a 
wonder-working  image.  Pan  Michael  embraced  his  sister 
on  the  way,  and  approached  Krysia.  The  maiden's  face  was 
as  white  as  linen,  so  -that  the  light  down  on  her  lip  seemed 
darker  than  usual ;  her  breast  rose  and  fell  violently.  But 
Pan  Michael  took  her  hand  mildly  and  pressed  it  to  his 
lips ;  then  his  mustaches  quivered  for  a  time,  as  if  he  were 
collecting  his  thoughts ;  at  last  he  spoke  with  great  sadness, 
but  with  great  calmness,  — 

"  My  gracious  lady,  or  better,  my  beloved  Krysia !  Hear 
me  without  alarm,  for  I  am  not  some  Scythian  or  Tartar, 
or  a  wild  beast,  but  a  friend,  who,  though  not  very  happy 
himself,  still  desires  your  happiness.  It  has  come  out  that 
you  and  Ketling  love  each  other;  Panna  Basia  in  just 
anger  threw  it  in  my  eyes.  I  do  not  deny  that  I  rushed 
out  of  this  house  in  a  rage  and  flew  to  seek  vengeance  on 
Ketling.  Whoso  loses  his  all  is  more  easily  borne  away  by 
vengeance ;  and  I,  as  God  is  dear  to  me,  loved  you  terribly 
and  not  merely  as  a  man  never  married  loves  a  maiden. 
For  if  I  had  been  married  and  the  Lord  God  had  given  me 
an  only  son  or  a  daughter,  and  had  taken  them  afterward, 
I  should  not  have  mourned  over  them,  I  think,  as  I  mourned 
over  you." 

Here  Pan  Michael's  voice  failed  for  a  moment,  but  he 
recovered  quickly  ;  and  after  his  mustache  had  quivered  a 
number  of  times,  he  continued,  "Sorrow  is  sorrow;  but 
there  is  no  help.  That  Ketling  fell  in  love  with  you  is  not 
a  wonder.  Who  would  not  fall  in  love  with  you  ?  And 
that  you  fell  in  love  with  him,  that  is  my  fate ;  there  is  no 
reason  either  to  wonder  at  that,  for  what  comparison  is 
there  between  Ketling  and  me  ?  In  the  field  he  will  say 
himself  that  I  am  not  the  worse  man ;  but  that  is  another 
matter.  The  Lord  God  gave  beauty  to  one,  withheld  it  from 
the  other,  but  rewarded  him  with  reflection.  So  when 
the  wind  on  the  road  blew  around  me,  and  my  first  rage 


160  PAN  MICHAEL. 

had  passed,  conscience  said  straightway,  Why  punish 
them  ?  Why  shed  the  blood  of  a  friend  ?  They  fell  in 
love,  that  was  God's  will.  The  oldest  people  say  that 
against  the  heart  the  command  of  a  hetman  is  nothing.  It 
was  the  will  of  God  that  they  fell  in  love  ;  but  that  they  did 
not  betray,  is  their  honesty.  If  Ketliug  even  had  known 
of  your  promise  to  me,  may  be  I  should  have  called  to  him, 
'  Quench ! '  but  he  did  not  know  of  it.  What  was  his  fault  ? 
Nothing.  And  your  fault?  Nothing.  He  wished  to  de- 
part ;  you  wished  to  go  to  God.  My  fate  is  to  blame,  my 
fate  only ;  for  the  finger  of  God  is  to  be  seen  now  in  this, 
that  I  remain  in  loneliness.  But  I  have  conquered  myself ; 
I  have  conquered  !  " 

Pan  Michael  stopped  again  and  began  to  breathe  quickly, 
like  a  man  who,  after  long  diving  in  water,  has  come  out  to 
the  air ;  then  he  took  Krysia's  hand.  "  So  to  love,"  said 
he,  "as  to  wish  all  for  one's  self,  is  not  an  exploit.  'The 
hearts  are  breaking  in  all  three  of  us/  thought  I ;  '  better 
let  one  suffer  and  give  relief  to  the  other  two.'  Krysia, 
God  give  you  happiness  with  Ketling !  Amen.  God  give 
you,  Krysia,  happiness  with  Ketling  !  It  pains  me  a  little, 
but  that  is  nothing —  God  give  you  —  that  is  nothing  —  I 
have  conquered  myself !  " 

The  soldier  said,  "  that  is  nothing,"  but  his  teeth  gritted, 
and  his  breath  began  to  hiss  through  them.  From  the 
other  end  of  the  room,  the  sobbing  of  Basia  was  heard. 

"  Ketling,  come  here,  brother  !  "  cried  Volodyovski. 

Ketling  approached,  knelt  down,  opened  his  arms,  and 
in  silence,  with  the  greatest  respect  and  love,  embraced 
Krysia's  'knees. 

But  Pan  Michael  continued  in  a  broken  voice,  "  Press  his 
head.  He  has  had  his  suffering  too,  poor  fellow.  God 
bless  you  and  him !  You  will  not  go  to  the  cloister.  I 
prefer  that  you  should  bless  me  rather  than  have  reason  to 
curse  me.  The  Lord  God  is  above  me,  though  it  is  hard  for 
me  now." 

Basia,  not  able  to  endure  longer,  rushed  out  of  the  room, 
seeing  which,  Pan  Michael  turned  to  Makovetski  and  his 
sister.  "  Go  to  the  other  chamber,"  said  he,  "  and  leave 
them;  I  too  will  go  somewhere,  for  I  will  kneel  down 
and  commend  myself  to  the  Lord  Jesus."  And  he  went 
out. 

Halfway  down  the  corridor  he  met  Basia,  at  the  staircase, 
on  the  very  same  place  where,  borne  away  by  anger,  she  had 


PAN  MICHAEL.  161 

divulged  the  secret  of  Krysia  and  Ketling.  But  this  time 
Basia  stood  leaning  against  the  wall,  choking  from  sobs. 

At  sight  of  this  Pan  Michael  was  touched  at  his  own 
fate ;  he  had  restrained  himself  up  to  that  moment  as  best 
he  was  able,  but  then  the  bonds  of  sorrow  gave  way,  and 
tears  burst  from  his  eyes  in  a  torrent.  "Why  do  you 
weep  ?  "  cried  he,  pitifully. 

Basia  raised  her  head,  thrusting,  like  a  child,  now  one 
and  now  the  other  fist  into  her  eyes,  choking  and  gulping  at 
the  air  with  open  mouth,  and  answered  with  sobbing,  "I 
am  so  sorry  !  Oh,  for  God's  sake !  0  Jesus !  Pan 
Michael  is  so  honest,  so  worthy  !  Oh,  for  God's  sake  ! " 

Pan  Michael  seized  her  hands  and  began  kissing  them 
from  gratitude.  "  God  reward  you !  God  reward  you  for 
your  heart !  "  said  he.  "  Quiet ;  do  not  weep." 

But  Basia  sobbed  the  more,  almost  to  choking.  Every 
vein  in  her  was  quivering  from  sorrow ;  she  began  to  gulp  for 
air  more  and  more  quickly ;  at  last,  stamping  from  excite- 
ment, she  cried  so  loudly  that  it  was  heard  through  the 
whole  corridor,  "  Krysia  is  a  fool !  I  would  rather  have  one 
Pan  Michael  than  ten  Ketlings  !  I  love  Pan  Michael  with 
all  my  strength,  —  better  than  auntie,  better  than  uncle, 
better  than  Krysia  !  " 

"For  God's  sake!  Basia !'J  cried  the  knight.  And 
wishing  to  restrain  her  emotion,  he  seized  her  in  his  em- 
brace, and  she  nestled  up  to  his  breast  with  all  her  strength, 
so  that  he  felt  her  heart  throbbing  like  a  wearied  bird; 
then  he  embraced  her  still  more  firmly,  and  they  remained 
so. 

Silence  followed. 

"  Basia,  do  you  wish  me  ?  "  asked  the  little  knight. 

"  I  do,  I  do,  I  do  !  "  answered  Basia. 

At  this  answer  transport  seized  him  in  turn ;  he  pressed 
his  lips  to  her  rosy  lips,  and  again  they  remained  so. 

Meanwhile  a  carriage  rattled  up  to  the  house,  and  Zagloba 
rushed  into  the  ante-room,  then  to  the  dining-room,  in  which 
Pan  Makovetski  was  sitting  with  his  wife.  "  There  is  no 
sign  of  Michael ! "  cried  he,  in  one  breath ;  "  I  looked 
everywhere.  Pan  Krytski  said  that  he  saw  him  with 
Ketling.  Surely  they  have  fought ! " 

"Michael  is  here,"  answered  Pani  Makovetski;  "he 
brought  Ketling  and  gave  him  Krysia." 

The  pillar  of  salt  into  which  Lot's  wife  was  turned  had 
surely  a  less  astonished  face  than  Zagloba  at  that  moment. 

11 


162  PAN  MICHAEL. 

Silence  continued  for  a  while  ;  then  the  old  noble  rubbed 
his  eyes  and  asked,  "  What  ?  " 

"Krysia  and  Ketling  are  sitting  in  there  together,  and 
Michael  has  gone  to  pray,"  said  Makovetski. 

Zagloba  entered  the  next  room  without  a  moment's  hesi- 
tation ;  and  though  he  knew  of  all,  he  was  astonished  a 
second  time,  seeing  Ketling  and  Krysia  sitting  forehead  to 
forehead.  They  sprang  up,  greatly  confused,  and  had  not 
a  word  to  say,  especially  as  the  Makovetskis  came  in  after 
Zagloba. 

"A  lifetime  would  not  suffice  to  thank  Michael,"  said 
Ketling,  at  last.  "  Our  happiness  is  his  work." 

"  God  give  you  happiness  ! "  said  Makovetski.  "  We  will 
not  oppose  Michael." 

Krysia  dropped  into  the  embraces  of  Pani  Makovetski, 
and  the  two  began  to  cry.  Zagloba  was  as  if  stunned.  Ket- 
ling bowed  to  Makovetski's  knees  as  to  those  of  a  father ; 
and  either  from  the  onrush  of  thoughts,  or  from  confusion, 
Makovetski  said,  "But  Pan  Bey  ma  killed  Pan  Ubysh. 
Thank  Michael,  not  me  !  "  After  a  while  he  asked,  "Wife, 
what  was  the  name  of  that  lady  ?  " 

But  she  had  no  time  for  an  answer,  for  at  that  moment 
Basia  rushed  in,  panting  more  than  usual,  more  rosy  than 
usual,  with  her  forelock  falling  down  over  her  eyes  more 
than  usual ;  she  ran  up  to  Ketling  and  Krysia,  and  thrust- 
ing her  finger  now  into  the  eye  of  one,  and  now  into  the  eye 
of  the  other,  said,  "  Oh,  sigh,  love,  marry !  You  think  that 
Pan  Michael  will  be  alone  in  the  world  ?  Not  a  bit  of  it ;  I 
shall  be  with  him,  for  I  love  him,  and  I  have  told  him  so. 
I  was  the  first  to  tell  him,  and  he  asked  if  I  wanted  him,  and 
I  told  him  that  I  would  rather  have  him  than  ten  others; 
for  I  love  him,  and  I  '11  be  the  best  wife,  and  I  will  never 
leave  him  !  I  '11  go  to  the  war  with  him  !  I  've  loved  him 
this  long  time,  though  I  did  not  tell  him,  for  he  is  the  best 
and  the  worthiest,  the  beloved  —  And  now  marry  for  your- 
selves, and  I  will  take  Pan  Michael,  to-morrow,  if  need 
be  — for— " 

Here  breath  failed  Basia. 

All  looked  at  her,  not  understanding  whether  she  had 
gone  mad  or  was  telling  the  truth ;  then  they  looked  at  one 
another,  and  with  that  Pan  Michael  appeared  in  the  door 
behind  Basia. 

"Michael,"  asked  Makovetski,  when  presence  of  mind 
had  restored  his  voice  to  him,  "  is  what  we  hear  true  ?  " 


PAN   MICHAEL. 

"  God  has  wrought  a  miracle,"  answered  the  little  knight, 
with  great  seriousness,  "  and  here  is  my  comfort,  my  love, 
my  greatest  treasure." 

After  these  words  Basia  sprang  to  him  again  like  a  deer. 

Now  the  mask  of  astonishment  fell  from  Zagloba's  face, 
and  his  white  beard  began  to  quiver ;  he  opened  his  arms 
widely  and  said,  "  God  knows  I  shall  sob !  Haiduk  and 
Michael,  come  hither!  " 


164  PAN  MICHAEL. 


CHAPTEK  XXII. 

HE  loved  her  immensely ;  and  she  loved  him  in  the  same 
way.  They  were  happy  together,  but  had  no  children, 
though  it  was  the  fourth  year  of  their  marriage.  Their 
lands  were  managed  with  great  diligence.  Pan  Michael 
bought  with  his  own  and  Basia's  money  a  number  of  vil- 
lages near  Kamenyets ;  for  these  he  paid  a  small  price, 
since  timid  people  in  terror  of  Turkish  invasion  were  glad 
to  sell  land  in  those  regions.  On  his  estates  he  intro- 
duced order  and  military  discipline ;.  he  took  the  restless 
population  in  hand,  rebuilt  burned  villages,  established 
"  fortalices,"  —  that  is,  fortified  houses,  —  in  which  he 
placed  temporary  garrisons ;  in  one  word,  as  formerly  he 
had  defended  the  country  with  success,  so  now  he  worked 
his  lands  with  good  profit,  never  letting  the  sword  out  of 
his  hand. 

The  glory  of  his  name  was  the  best  defence  of  his  prop- 
erty. With  some  of  the  murzas  he  poured  water  on  his 
sword  and  concluded  brotherhood  ;  others  he  subdued. 
Bands  of  disorderly  Cossacks,  scattered  detachments  of 
the  horde,  robbers  from  the  steppes,  highwaymen  from 
the  plains  of  Bessarabia,  trembled  at  thought  of  the  "  Little 
Falcon ;  "  therefore  his  herds  of  horses  and  flocks  of  sheep, 
his  buffaloes  and  camels,  lived  without  danger  on  the 
steppes.  The  enemy  even  respected  his  neighbors.  His 
substance  increased  through  the  aid  of  his  active  wife.  He 
was  surrounded  by  the  honor  and  affection  of  people.  His 
native  land  had  adorned  him  with  office  ;  the  hetman  loved 
him ;  the  Pasha  of  Hotin  clicked  with  his  tongue  in 
wonder  at  him  ;  in  the  distant  Crimea,  in  Bagchesarai,  his 
name  was  repeated  with  honor.  His  land,  war,  and  love 
were  the  three  elements  of  his  life. 

The  hot  summer  of  1671  found  Pan  Michael  in  Sokol,  in 
Basia's  paternal  villages.  That  Sokol  was  the  pearl  of  their 
estates.  They  entertained  there  ceremoniously  and  merrily 
Pan  Zagloba,  who,  disregarding  the  toils  of  a  journey  un- 
usual at  his  age,  came  to  visit  them,  fulfilling  his  solemn 
promise  given  at  their  wedding.  But  the  noisy  feasts  and 


PAN    Mir  HA  EL.  165 

the  joy  of  the  hosts  at  seeing  a  dear  guest  wa^  soon  inter- 
rupted by  an  order  from  the  hetman  directing  Pan  Michael 
to  take  command  at  Hreptyoff,  to  watch  the  Moldavian 
boundary,  to  listen  to  voices  from  the  side  of  the  desert, 
protect  the  place,  intercept  Tartar  parties,  and  clear  the 
region  of  robbers. 

1  The  little  knight,  as  a  soldier  ever  willing  in  the  service 
of  the  Commonwealth,  gave  orders  at  once  to  his  servants 
to  drive  the  herds  from  the  meadows,  lade  the  camels, 
and  be  ready  themselves  in  arms.  Still,  his  heart  was 
rent  at  thought  of  parting  with  his  wife,  for  he  loved  her 
with  the  love  of  a  husband  and  a  father,  and  was  hardly 
able  to  breathe  without  her ;  but  he  had  no  wish  to  take 
her  to  the  wild  and  lonely  deserts  of  Ushytsa  and  expose 
her  to  various  perils.  She,  however,  insisted  on  going  with 
him. 

"Think,"  said  she,  "whether  it  will  be  more  dangerous 
for  me  to  stay  here  than  to  live  with  you  under  the  protec- 
tion of  troops.  I  do  not  wish  another  roof  than  your  tent, 
since  I  married  you  to  share  fatigue,  toil,  and  danger  with 
you.  Here  alarm  would  gnaw  me  to  death ;  but  there,  with 
such  a  soldier,  I  shall  feel  safer  than  the  queen  in  Warsaw. 
Should  it  be  needful  to  take  the  field  with  you,  I  shall  take 
it.  If  you  go  alone,  I  shall  not  know  sleep  in  this  place  ;  I 
shall  not  put  food  to  my  mouth ;  and  finally,  I  shall  not  hold 
out,  but  fly  as  I  am  to  Hreptyoff ;  and  if  you  will  not  let  me 
in,  I  will  spend  the  night  at  the  gate,  and  beg  and  cry  till 
you  take  pity." 

Pan  Michael,  seeing  such  affection,  seized  his  wife  by 
the  arms  and  began  to  cover  her  rosy  face  with  kisses,  and 
she  gave  like  for  like.  "  I  should  not  hesitate,"  said  he,  at 
last,  "  were  it  a  question  of  standing  on  guard  simply  and 
attacking  detachments  of  the  horde.  Really,  there  will  be 
men  enough,  because  one  of  the  squadrons  of  the  starosta 
of  Podolia  will  go  with  me,  and  one  of  the  chamberlain's 
squadrons  ;  besides  these,  Motovidlo  will  come  with  Cos- 
sacks and  the  dragoons  of  Linkhauz.  There  will  be  about 
six  hundred  soldiers,  and  with  camp-followers  up  to  a  thou- 
sand. But  I  fear  this,  which  the  braggarts  at  the  Diet  in 
Warsaw,  will  not  believe,  but  which  we  011  the  borders 
expect  every  hour,  —  namely,  a  great  war  with  the  whole 
power  of  Turkey.  This  Pan  Myslishevski  has  confirmed, 
and  the  Pasha  of  Hotin  repeats  it  every  day ;  the  hetman 
believes  that  the  Sultan  will  not  leave  Doroshenko  without 


166  PAN  MICHAEL. 

succor,  but  will  declare  war  against  the  Commonwealth ; 
and  then  wh'at  should  I  do  with  you,  my  dearest  flower,  niy 
reward  from  God's  hand  ?  " 

"  What  happens  to  you  will  happen  to  me.  I  wish  no 
other  fate  than  the  fate  which  comes  to  you." 

Here  Zagloba  broke  his  silence,  and  turning  to  Basia, 
said,  "  If  the  Turks  capture  you,  whether  you  wish  it  or 
not,  your  fate  will  be  different  from  Michael's.  Ha  !  After 
the  Cossacks,  the  Swedes,  the  Northerners,  and  the  Bran- 
denburg kennel  —  the  Turk  !  I  said  to  Olshovski,  the  vice- 
chancellor,  '  Do  not  bring  Doroshenko  to  despair,  for  only 
from  necessity  did  he  turn  to  the  Turk.'  Well,  and  what  ? 
They  would  not  listen  to  me.  They  sent  Hanenko  against 
Doroshenko,  and  now  Doroshenko,  willing  or  unwilling, 
must  crawl  into  the  throat  of  the  Turk,  and,  besides, 
lead  him  against  us.  You  remember,  Michael,  that  I 
forewarned  Olshovski  in  your  presence." 

"You  must  have  forewarned  him  some  other  time,  for  I 
do  not  remember  that  it  was  in  my  presence,"  said  the  little 
knight.  "  But  what  you  say  of  Doroshenko  is  holy  truth, 
for  the  hetman  holds  the  same  views  ;  they  say  even  that 
he  has  letters  from  Doroshenko  written  in  that  sense 
precisely.  But  as  matters  are,  so  they  are ;  it  is  enough 
that  it  is  too  late  now  to  negotiate.  You  have  quick  wit,  how- 
ever, and  I  should  like  to  hear  your  opinion.  Am  I  to  take 
Basia  to  Hreptyoff,  or  is  it  better  to  leave  her  here  ?  I 
must  add  too  that  the  place  is  a  terrible  desert.  It  was 
always  a  wretched  spot,  but  during  twenty  years  so  many 
Cossack  parties  and  so  many  chambuls  have  passed  through 
it,  that  I  know  not  whether  I  shall  find  two  beams  fastened 
together.  There  is  a  world  of  ravines  there,  grown  over 
with  thickets,  hiding-places,  deep  caves,  and  every  kind  of 
secret  den  in  which  robbers  hide  themselves  by  hundreds, 
not  to  mention  those  who  come  from  Wallachia." 

"Robbers,  in  view  of  such  a  force,  are  a  trifle,"  said 
Zagloba.  "  Chambuls  too  are  a  trifle ;  for  if  strong  ones 
march  up,  there  will  be  a  noise  about  them ;  and  if  they 
are  small,  you  will  rub  them  out." 

"Well,  now!"  cried  Basia;  "is  not  the  whole  matter  a 
trifle  ?  Bobbers  are  a  trifle ;  chambuls  are  a  trifle.  With 
such  a  force  Michael  will  defend  me  from  all  the  power  of 
the  Crimea." 

"  Do  not  interrupt  me  in  deliberation,"  said  Zagloba ;  "  if 
you  do,  I  '11  decide  against  you." 


PAN   MICHAEL.  167 

Basia  put  both  palms  on  her  mouth  quickly,  and  dropped 
her  head  on  her  shoulder,  feigning  to  fear  Zagloba  terribly, 
and  though  he  knew  that  the  dear  woman  was  jesting,  still 
her  action  pleased  him  ;  therefore  he  put  his  old  hand  on 
her  bright  head  and  said,  "  Have  no  fear ;  I  will  comfort 
you  in  this  matter." 

Basia  kissed  his  hand  straightway,  for  in  truth  much 
depended  on  his  advice,  which  was  so  infallible  that  no  one 
was  ever  led  astray  by  it ;  he  thrust  both  hands  behind  his 
belt,  and  glancing  quickly  with  his  seeing  eye  now  on  one, 
now  on  the  other,  said  suddenly,  "  But  there  is  no  posterity 
here,  none  at  all ;  how  is  that  ?  "  Here  he  thrust  out  his 
under-lip. 

"  The  will  of  God,  nothing  more,"  said  Pan  Michael, 
dropping  his  eyes. 

"  The  will  of  God,  nothing  more,"  said  Basia,  dropping 
her  eyes. 

"  And  do  you  wish  for  posterity  ?  " 

To  this  the  little  knight  answered:  "I  will  tell  you 
sincerely,  I  do  not  know  what  I  would  give  for  children, 
but  sometimes  I  think  the  wish  vain.  As  it  is,  the  Lord 
Jesus  has  sent  happiness,  giving  me  this  kitten,  —  or  as 
you  call  her,  this  haiduk,  —  and  besides  has  blessed  me 
with  fame  and  with  substance.  I  do  not  dare  to  trouble 
Him  for  greater  blessings.  You  see  it  has  come  to  my 
head  more  than  once  that  if  all  people  had  their  wishes 
accomplished,  there  would  be  no  difference  between  this 
earthly  Commonwealth  and  the  heavenly  one,  which  alone 
can  give  perfect  happiness.  So  I  think  to  myself  that  if  I 
do  not  wait  here  for  one  or  two  sons,  they  will  not  miss  me 
up  there,  and  will  serve  and  win  glory  in  the  old  fashion 
under  the  heavenly  hetman,  the  holy  archangel  Michael,  in 
expeditions  against  the  foulness  of  hell,  and  will  attain  to 
high  office." 

Here,  moved  at  his  own  words  and  at  that  thought,  the 
pious  Christian  knight  raised  his  eyes  to  heaven;  but 
Zagloba  listened  to  him  with  indifference,  and  did  not  cease 
to  mutter  sternly.  At  last  he  said,  — 

"  See  that  you  do  riot  blaspheme.  Your  boast  that  you 
divine  the  intentions  of  Providence  so  well  may  be  a  sin  for 
which  you  will  hop  around  as  peas  do  on  a  hot  pan.  The 
Lord  God  has  a  wider  sleeve  than  the  bishop  of  Cracow, 
but  He  does  not  like  to  have  any  one  look  in  to  see  wha4; 
He  has  prepared  there  for  small  people,  and  He  does  what 


168  PAN  MICHAEL. 

He  likes ;  but  do  you  see  to  that  which  concerns  you,  and 
if  you  wish  for  posterity,  keep  your  wife  with  you,  instead 
of  leaving  her." 

When  Basia  heard  this,  she  sprang  with  delight  to  the 
middle  of  the  room,  and  clapping  her  hands,  began  to  repeat, 
"  Well,  now  !  we  '11  keep  together.  I  guessed  at  once  that 
your  grace  would  come  to  my  side ;  I  guessed  it  at  once. 
We  '11  go  to'  Hreptyoff,  Michael.  Even  once  you  '11  take 
me  against  the  Tartars,  —  one  little  time,  my  dear,  my 
golden  ! " 

"  There  she  is  for  you !  Now  she  wants  to  go  to  an 
attack ! "  cried  the  little  knight. 

"  For  with  you  I  should  not  fear  the  whole  horde." 

"  Silentium ! "  said  Zagloba,  turning  his  delighted  eyes, 
or  rather  his  delighted  eye,  on  Basia,  whom  he  loved 
immensely.  "  I  hope  too  that  Hreptyoff,  which,  by  the  way, 
is  not  so  far  from  here,  is  not  the  last  stanitsa  before  the 
Wilderness." 

"No;  there  will  be  commands  farther  on,  in  Mohiloff 
and  Yampol ;  and  the  last  is  to  be  in  Rashkoff,"  answered 
Pan  Michael. 

"  In  Rashkoff  ?  We  know  Rashkoff.  It  was  from  that 
place  that  we  brought  Helena,  Pan  Yan's  wife ;  and  you  re- 
member that  ravine  in  Valadynka,  Michael.  You  remember 
how  I  cut  down  that  monster,  or  devil,  Cheremis,  who  was 
guarding  her.  But  since  the  last  garrison  will  he  in  Rash- 
koff, if  the  Crimea  moves,  or  the  whole  Turkish  power, 
they  will  know  quickly  in  Rashkoff,  and  will  give  timely 
notice  to  Hreptyoff ;  there  is  no  great  danger  then,  for  the 
place  cannot  be  surprised.  I  say  this  seriously ;  and  you 
know,  besides,  that  I  would  rather  lay  down  my  old  head 
than  expose  her  to  any  risk.  Take  her.  It  will  be  better 
for  you  both.  But  Basia  must  promise  that  in  case  of  a 
great  war  she  will  let  herself  be  taken  even  to  Warsaw,  for 
there  would  be  terrible  campaigns  and  fierce  battles, 
besieging  of  camps,  perhaps  hunger,  as  at  Zbaraj ;  in  such 
straits  it  is  hard  for  a  man  to  save  his  life,  but  what  could 
a  woman  do  ?  " 

"  I  should  be  glad  to  fall  at  Michael's  side,"  said  Basia ; 
"  but  still  I  have  reason,  and  know  that  when  a  thing  is  not 
possible,  it  is  not  possible.  Finally,  it  is  Michael's  will, 
and  not  mine.  This  year  he  went  on  an  expedition  under 
Pan  Sobieski.  Did  I  insist  on  going  with  him  ?  No.  Well, 
if  I  am  not  prevented  now  from  going  to  Hreptyoff  with 


PAN  MICHAEL.  169 

Michael,  in-  case  a  great  war  conies,  send  me  wherever  you 
like." 

"  His  grace,  Pan  Zagloba,  will  take  you  to  Podlyasye  to 
Pan  Yaii's  wife,"  said  the  little  knight ;  "  there  indeed  the 
Turk  will  not  reach  you." 

"  Pan  Zagloba !  Pan  Zagloba  !  "  answered  the  old  noble, 
mocking  him.  "Am  I  a  captain  of  home  guards  ?  Do  not 
intrust  your  wives  to  Pan  Zagloba,  thinking  that  he  is  old, 
for  he  may  turn  out  altogether  different.  Secondly,  do  you 
think  that  in  case  of  war  with  the  Turk,  I  shall  go  behind 
the  stove  in  Podlyasye,  and  watch  the  roast  meat  lest  it 
burn  ?  I  may  be  good  for  something  else.  I  mount  ray 
horse  from  a  bench,  I  confess ;  but  when  once  in  the  saddle, 
I  will  gallop  on  the  enemy  as  well  as  any  young  man. 
Neither  sand  nor  sawdust  is  sprinkling  out  of  me  yet,  glory 
be  to  God !  I  shall  not  go  on  a  raid  against  Tartars,  nor 
watch  in  the  Wilderness,  for  I  am  not  a  scout;  but  in 
a  general  attack  keep  near  me,  if  you  can,  and  you  will  see 
splendid  things." 

"  Do  you  wish  to  take  the  field  again  ?  " 

"Do  you  not  think  that  I  wish  to  seal  a  famous  life' 
with  a  glorious  death,  after  so  many  years  of  service  ? 
And  what  better  could  happen  to  me  ?  Did  you  know  Pan 
Dzevyantkevich  ?  He,  it  is  true,  did  not  seem  more  than  a 
hundred  and  forty  years  old,  but  he  was  a  hundred  and 
forty-two,  and  was  still  in  service." 

"  He  was  not  so  old." 

"He  was.  May  I  never  move'  from  this  bench  if  he 
was  n't !  I  am  going  to  a  great  war,  and  that 's  the  end  of 
it !  But  now  I  am  going  with  you  to  Hreptyoff,  for  I  love 
Basia." 

Basia  sprang  up  with  radiant  face  and  began  to  hug 
Zagloba,  and  he  raised  his  head  higher  and  higher,  repeat- 
ing, "  Tighter,  tighter  !  " 

Pan  Michael  pondered  over  everything  for  a  time  yet  and 
said  at  last :  "  It  is  impossible  for  us  all  to  go  together, 
since  the  place  is  a  pure  wilderness,  and  we  should  not  find 
a  bit  of  roof  over  our  heads.  I  will  go  first,  choose  a  place 
for  a  square,  build  a  good  enclosure  with  houses  for  the 
soldiers,  and  sheds  for  the  officers'  horses,  which,  being  of 
liner  stock,  might  suffer  froiu  change  of  climate  ;  I  will  dig 
wells,  open  the  roads,  and  clear  the  ravines  from  robber 
ruffians.  That  done,  I  '11  send  you  a  proper  escort,  and  you 
will  come.  You  will  wait,  perhaps,  three  weeks  here." 


170  PAN  MICHAEL. 

Basia  wished  to  protest ;  but  Zagloba,  seeing  the  justice 
of  Pan  Michael's  words,  said,  "  What  is  wise,  is  wise ! 
Basia,  we  will  stay  here  together  and  keep  house,  and  our 
affair  will  not  be  a  bad  one.  We  must  also  make  ready 
good  supplies  in  some  fashion,  for,  of  course,  you  do  not 
know  that  meads  and  wines  never  keep  so  well  as  in 
caves." 


FAN  MICHAEL. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

VOLODYOVSKI  kept  his  word  ;  in  three  weeks  he  finished 
the  buildings  and  sent  a  notable  escort,  —  one  hundred 
Lithuanian  Tartars  from  the  squadron  of  Pan  Lantsko- 
ronski  and  one  hundred  of  Linkhauz's  dragoons,  who  were 
led  by  Pan  Snitko,  of  the  escutcheon  Hidden  Moon.  The 
Tartars  were  led  by  Capt.  Azya  Mellehovich,  who  was 
descended  from  Lithuanian  Tartars,  —  a  very  young  man, 
for  he  had  barely  reached  twenty  and  some  years.  He 
brought  a  letter  which  the  little  k'night  had  written,  as 
follows,  to  his  wife :  — 

"  Baska,  beloved  of  my  heart !  You  may  come  now,  for  without  you 
it  is  as  if  without  bread ;  and  if  I  do  not  wither  away  before  you  are 
here,  I  shall  kiss  your  rosy  face  off.  I  am  not  stingy  in  sending  men 
and  experienced  officers ;  but  give  priority  in  all  to  Pan  Snitko,  and 
admit  him  to  our  society,  for  he  is  bene  natus  (well-born),  an  inheri- 
tor of  land,  and  an  officer.  As  to  Mellehovich,  he  is  a  good  soldier, 
but  God  knows  who  he  is.  He  could  not  become  an  officer  in  any 
squadron  but  the  Tartar,  for  it  would  be  easier  elsewhere  for  any 
man  to  fling  low  birth  at  him.  I  embrace  you  with  all  my  strength  ; 
I  kiss  your  hands  and  feet.  I  have  built  a  fortalice  with  one  hun- 
dred circular  openings.  We  have  immense  chimneys.  For  you  and 
me  there  are  several  rooms  in  a  house  apart.  There  is  an  odor  of 
rosin  everywhere,  and  such  legions  of  crickets  that  when  they  begin 
to  chirp  in  the  evening  the  dogs  start  up  from  sleep.  If  we  had  a 
little  pea-straw,  they  might  be  got  rid  of  quickly ;  perhaps  you  will 
have  some  placed  in  the  wagons.  There  was  no  glass  to  be  had,  so 
we  put  membrane  in  the  windows  ;  but  Pan  Byaloglovski  has  a 
glazier  in  his  command  among  the  dragoons.  You  can  get  glass  in 
Kamenyets  from  the  Armenians ;  but,  for  God's  sake  1  let  it  be 
handled  with  care  to  avoid  breaking.  I  have  had  your  room  fitted 
with  rugs,  and  it  has  a  respectable  look.  I  have  had  the  robbers 
whom  we  caught  in  the  ravines  hanged,  nineteen  of  them  ;  and  before 
you  come,  the  number  will  reach  half  three-score.  Pan  Snitko  will 
tell  you  how  we  live.  I  commend  you  to  God  and  the  Most  Holy 
Lady,  my  dear  soul." 

Basia,  after  reading  the  letter,  gave  it  to  Zagloba,  who, 
when  he  had  glanced  over  it,  began  at  once  to  show  more 
consideration  to  Pan  Snitko,  —  not  so  great,  however,  that 


172  PAN  MICHAEL. 

the  other  should  not  feel  that  he  was  speaking  to  a  most 
renowned  warrior  and  a  great  personage,  who  admitted  him 
to  confidence  only  through  kindness.  Moreover,  Pan  Snitko 
was  a  good-natured  soldier,  joyous  and  most  accurate  in 
service,  for  his  life  had  passed  in  the  ranks.  He  honored 
Volodyovski  greatly,  and  in  view  of  Zagloba's  fame  he  felt 
small,  and  had  no  thought  of  exalting  himself. 

Mellehovich  was  not  present  at  the  reading  of  the  letter, 
for  when  he  had  delivered  it,  he  went  out  at  once,  as  if  to 
look  after  his  men,  but  really  from  fear  that  they  might 
command  him  to  go  to  the  servants'  quarters. 

Zagloba,  however,  had  time  to  examine  him ;  and  having 
the  words  of  Pan  Michael  fresh  in  his  head,  he  said  to_ 
Snitko,  "  We  are  glad  to  see  you.  I  pray  you,  Pan 
Snitko,  I  know  the  escutcheon  Hidden  Moon,  —  a  worthy 
escutcheon.  But  this  Tartar,  what  is  his  name  ?  " 

"  Mellehovich." 

"But  this  Mellehovich  looks  somehow  like  a  wolf. 
Michael  writes  that  he  is  a  man  of  uncertain  'origin,  which 
is  a  wonder,  for  all  our  Tartars  are  nobles,  though  Moham- 
medans. In  Lithuania  I  saw  whole  villages  inhabited  by 
them.  There  people  call  them  Lipki ;  but  those  here  are 
known  as  Cheremis.  They  have  long  served  the  Common- 
wealth faithfully  in  return  for  their  bread ;  but  during  the 
time  of  the  peasant  incursion  many  of  them  went  over  to 
Hinelnitski,  and  now  I  hear  that  they  are  beginning  to 
communicate  with  the  horde.  That  Mellehovich  looks  like 
a  wolf.  Has  Pan  Volodyovski  known  him  long  ?  " 

"  Since  the  last  expedition,"  said  Pan  Snitko,  putting  his 
feet  under  the  table,  "  when  we  were  acting  with  Pan 
Sobieski  against  Doroshenko  and  the  horde;  they  went 
through  the  Ukraine." 

"  Since  the  last  expedition  !  I  could  not  take  part  in  that, 
for  Sobieski  confided  other  functions  to  me,  though  later  on 
he  was  lonely  without  me.  But  your  escutcheon  is  the 
Hidden  Moon !  From  what  place  is  Mellehovich  ? " 

"  He  says  that  he  is  a  Lithuanian  Tartar ;  but  it  is  a 
wonder  to  me  that  none  of  the  Lithuanian  Tartars  knew 
him  before,  though  he  serves  in  their  squadron.  From  this 
come  stories  of  his  uncertain  origin,  which  his  lofty 
manners  have  not  been  able  to  prevent.  But  he  is  a  good 
soldier,  though  sullen.  At  Bratslav  and  Kalnik  he  rendered 
great  service,  for  which  the  hetman  made  him  captain, 
though  he  was  the  youngest  man  in  the  squadron.  The 


PAN  MICHAEL.  173 

Tartars  love  him  greatly,  but  he  has  no  consideration 
among  us,  and  why  ?  Because  he  is  very  sullen,  and,  as 
you  say,  has  the  look  of  a  wolf." 

"  If  he  is  a  great  soldier  and  has  shed  blood,"  said  Basia, 
"  it  is  proper  to  admit  him  to  our  society,  which  my  hus- 
band in  his  letter  does  not  forbid."  Here  she  turned  to 
Pan  Snitko :  "  Does  your  grace  permit  it  ?  " 

"  I  am  the  servant  of  my  benefactress,"  said  Snitko. 

Basia  vanished  through  the  door ;  and  Zagloba,  drawing 
a  deep  bVeath,  asked  Fan  Snitko,  "  Well,  and  how  does  the 
colonel's  wife  please  you  ?  " 

The  old  soldier,  instead  of  an  answer,  put  his  fists  to  his 
eyes,  and  bending  in  the  chair,  repeated,  "Ai!  ai !  ai!" 
Then  he  stared,  covered  his  mouth  with  his  broad  palm, 
and  was  silent,  as  if  ashamed  of  his  own  enthusiasm. 

"  Sweet  cakes,  is  n't  she  ?  "  asked  Zagloba. 

Meanwhile  "  sweet  cakes  "  appeared  in  the  door,  conduct- 
ing Mellehovich,  who  was  as  frightened  as  a  wild  bird,  and 
saying  to  him,  "  From  my  husband's  letter  and  from  Pan 
Snitko  we  have  heard  so  much  of  your  manful  deeds  that 
we  are  glad  to  know  you  more  intimately.  We  ask  you 
to  our  society,  and  the  table  will  be  laid  presently." 

"  I  pray  you  to  come  nearer,"  said  Zagloba. 

The  sullen  but  handsome  face  of  the  young  Tartar  did 
not  brighten  altogether,  but  it  was  evident  that  he  -was 
thankful  for  the  good  reception,  and  because  he  was  not 
commanded  to  remain  in  the  servants'  quarters.  Basia 
endeavored  of  purpose  to  be  kind  to  him,  for  with  a 
woman's  heart  she  guessed  easily  that  he  was  suspicious 
and  proud,  that  the  chagrin  which  beyond  doubt  he  had  to 
bear  often  by  reason  of  his  uncertain  descent  pained  him 
acutely.  Not  making,  therefore,  between  him  and  Snitko 
any  difference  save  that  enjoined  by  Snitko's  riper  age,  she 
inquired  of  the  young  captain  touching  those  services  owing 
to  which  he  had' received  promotion  at  Kalnik.  Zagloba, 
divining  Basia's  wish,  spoke  to  him  also  frequently  enough  ; 
and  he,  though  at  first  rather  distant  in  bearing,  gave 
fitting  answers,  and  his  manners  not  only  did  not  betray  a 
vulgar  man,  but  were  even  astonishing  through  a  certain 
courtliness. 

"  That  cannot  be  peasant  blood,  for  not  such  would  the 
spirit  bo,"  thought  Zagloba  to  himself.  Then  he  inquired 
aloud,  "  In  what  parts  does  your  father  live  ?  " 

"  In  Lithuania,"  replied  Mollchovich,  blushing. 


174  PAN  MICHAEL. 

"  Lithuania  is  a  large  country.  That  is  the  same  as  if 
you  had  said  in  the  Commonwealth." 

"  It  is  not  in  the  Commonwealth  now,  for  those  regions 
have  fallen  away.  My  father  has  an  estate  near  Smolensk." 

"  I  had  considerable  possessions  there  too,  which  came  to 
me  from  childless  relatives  ;  but  I  chose  to  leave  them  and 
side  with  the  Commonwealth." 

"  I  act  in  the  same  way,"  said  Mellehovich. 

"  You  act  honorably,"  put  in  Basia. 

But  Snitko,  listening  to  the  conversation,  shrugged  his 
shoulders  slightly,  as  if  to  say,  "  God  knows  who  you  are, 
and  whence  you  came." 

Zagloba,  noticing  this,  turned  again  to  Mellehovich,  "Do 
you  confess  Christ,  or  do  you  live,  —  and  I  speak  without 
offence,  —  live  in  vileness  ?  " 

"I  have  received  the  Christian  faith,  for  which  reason  I 
had  to  leave  my  father." 

"  If  you  have  left  him  for  that  reason,  the  Lord  God  will 
not  leave  you ;  and  the  first  proof  of  His  kindness  is  that 
you  can  drink  wine,  which  you  could  not  do  if  you  had 
remained  in  error." 

Snitko  smiled ;  but  questions  touching  his  person  and 
descent  were  clearly  not  to  the  taste  of  Mellehovich,  for  he 
grew  reserved  again.  Zagloba,  however,  paid  little  atten- 
tion to  this,  especially  since  the  young  Tartar  did  not  please 
him  much,  for  at  times  he  reminded  him,  not  by  his  face,  it 
is  true,  but  by  his  movements  and  glance,  of  Bogun,  the 
famed  Cossack  leader. 

Meanwhile  dinner  was  served.  The  rest  of  the  day  was 
occupied  in  final  preparations  for  the  road.  They  started 
at  daybreak,  or  rather  when  it  was  still  night,  so  as  to  arrive 
at  Hreptyoff  in  one  day. 

Nearly  twenty  wagons  were  collected,  for  Basia  had 
determined  to  supply  the  larders  of  Hreptyoff  bountifully  ; 
and  behind  the  wagons  followed  camels  and  horses  heavily 
laden,  bending  under  the  weight  of  meal  and  dried  meat ; 
behind  the  caravan  moved  a  number  of  tens  of  oxen  of  the 
steppe  and  a  flock  of  sheep.  The  march  was  opened  by 
Mellehovich  with  his  Tartars ;  the  dragoons  rode  near  a 
covered  carriage  in  which  sat  Basia  with  Pan  Zagloba.  She 
wished  greatly  to  ride  a  trained  palfrey ;  but  the  old  noble 
begged  her  not  to  do  so,  at  least  during  the  beginning  and 
end  of  the  journey. 

"If  you  were   to   sit   quietly,"  said  he,  "I  should   not 


PAN  MICHAEL.  175 

object ;  but  you  would  begin  right  away  to  make  your 
horse  prance  and  show  himself,  and  that  is  not  proper  to 
the  dignity  of  the  commander's  wife." 

Basia  was  happy  and  joyous  as  a  bird.  From  the  time 
of  her  marriage  she  had  two  great  desires  in  life :  one  was 
to  give  Michael  a  son ;  the  other  to  live  with  the  little 
knight,  even  for  one  year,  at  some  stanitsa  near  the  Wil- 
derness, and  there,  on  the  edge  of  the  desert,  to  lead  a 
soldier's  life,  to  pass  through  war  and  adventures,  to  take 
part  in  expeditions,  to  see  with  her  own  eyes  those  steppes, 
to  pass  through  those  dangers  of  which  she  had  heard  so 
much  from  her  youngest  years.  She  dreamed  of  this  when 
still  a  girl ;  and  behold,  those  dreams  were  now  to  become 
reality,  and  moreover,  at  the  side  of  a  man  whom  she  loved 
and  who  was  the  most  famous  partisan  in  the  Common- 
wealth, of  whom  it  was  said  that  he  could  dig  an  enemy 
from  under  the  earth. 

Hence  the  young  woman  felt  wings  on  her  shoulders, 
and  such  a  great  joy  in  her  breast  that  at  moments  the 
desire  seized  her  to  shout  and  jump ;  but  the  thought  of 
decorum  restrained  her,  for  she  had  promised  herself  to  be 
dignified  and  to  win  intense  love  from  the  soldiers.  She 
confided  these  thoughts  to  Zagloba,  who  smiled  approvingly 
and  said,  — 

"  You  will  be  an  eye  in  his  head,  and  a  great  wonder,  that 
is  certain.  A  woman  in  a  stanitsa  is  a  marvel." 

"And  in  need  I  will  give  them  an  example." 

"Of  what?" 

"  Of  daring.  I  fear  only  one  thing,  —  that  beyond  Hrep- 
tyoff  there  will  be  other  commands  in  Mohiloff  and  Rashkoff, 
on  to  Yampol,  and  that  we  shall  not  see  Tartars  even  for 
medicine." 

"And  I  fear  only  this,  —  of  course  not  for  myself,  but  for 
you, —  that  we  shall  see  them  too  often.  Do  you  think  that 
the  chambuls  are  bound  strictly  to  come  through  Rashkoff 
and  Mohiloff  ?  They  can  come  directly  from  the  East,  from 
the  steppes,  or  by  the  Moldavian  side  of  the  Dniester,  and 
enter  the  boundaries  of  the  Commonwealth  wherever  they 
wish,  even  in  the  hills  beyond  Hreptyoff,  unless  it  is 
reported  widely  that  I  am  living  in  Hreptyoff ;  then  they 
will  keep  aside,  for  they  know  me  of  old." 

"  But  don't  they  know  Michael,  or  won't  they  avoid 
him  ?  " 

"  They   will   avoid   him    unless   they   come   with    great 


176  PAN  MICHAEL. 

power,  which  may  happen.  But  he  will  go  to  look  for 
them  himself." 

"  I  am  sure  of  that.  But  is  it  a  real  desert  in  Hreptyoff  ? 
The  place  is  not  so  far  away !  " 

"  It  could  not  be  more  real.  That  region  was  never 
thickly  settled,  even  in  time  of  my  youth.  I  went  from 
farm  to  farm,  from  village  to  village,  from  town  to  town. 
I  knew  everything,  was  everywhere.  I  remember  when 
Ushytsa  was  what  is  called  a  fortified  town.  Pan  Konyets- 
polski,  the  father,  made  me  starosta  there ;  but  after  that 
came  the  invasion  of  the  ruffians,  and  all  went  to  ruin. 
When  we  went  there  for  Princess  Helena,  it  was  a  desert ; 
and  after  that  chambuls  passed  through  it  twenty  times. 
Pan  Sobieski  has  snatched  it  again  from  the  Cossacks  and 
the  Tartars,  as  a  morsel  from  the  mouth  of  a  dog.  There 
are  only  a  few  people  there  now,  but  robbers  are  living  in 
the  ravines." 

Here  Zagloba  began  to  look  at  the  neighborhood  and  nod 
his  head,  remembering  old  times.  "  My  God  ! "  said  he, 
"  when  we  were  going  for  Helena,  it  seemed  to  me  that  old 
age  was  behind  my  girdle ;  and  now  I  think  that  I  was 
young  then,  for  nearly  twenty-four  years  have  passed. 
Michael  was  a  milksop  at  that  time,  and  had  not  many 
more  hairs  on  his  lip  than  I  have  on  my  fist.  And  this 
region  stands  in  my  memory  as  if  the  time  were  yesterday. 
Only  these  groves  and  pine  woods  have  grown  in  places 
deserted  by  tillers  of  the  land." 

In  fact,  just  beyond  Kitaigrod  they  entered  dense  pine 
woods  with  which  at  that  time  the  region  was  covered  for 
the  greater  part.  •  Here  and  there,  however,  especially 
around  Studyenitsa,  were  open  fields  ;  and  then  they  saw 
the  Dniester  and  a  country  stretching  forward  from  that 
side  of  the  river  to  the  heights,  touching  the  horizon  on  the 
Moldavian  side.  Deep  ravines,  the  abodes  of  wild  beasts 
and  wild  men,  intercepted  their  road ;  these  ravines  were  at 
times  narrow  and  precipitous,  at  times  wider,  with  sides 
gently  sloping  and  covered  with  thick  brush.  Mellehovich's 
Tartars  sank  into  them  carefully ;  and  when  the  rear  of 
the  convoy  was  on  the  lofty  brink,  the  van  was  already,  as 
it  were,  under  the  earth.  It  came  frequently  to  Basia  and 
Zagloba  to  leave  the  carriage ;  for  though  Pan  Michael  had 
cleared  the  road  in  some  sort,"  these  passages  were  danger- 
ous. At  the  bottom  of  the  ravine  springs  were  flowing,  or 
swift  rivulets  were  rushing,  which  in  spring  were  swollen 


PAN   MICHAEL.  177 

with  water  from  the  snow  of  the  steppes.  Though  the  sun 
still  wanned  tlic  pine  woods  and  steppes  powerfully,  a  harsh 
cold  was  hidden  in  those  stone  gorges,  and  seized  travellers 
on  a  sudden.  Pine-trees  covered  the  rocky  sides  and  tow- 
ered on  the  banks,  gloomy  and  dark,  as  if  desiring  to 
screen  that  sunken  interior  from  the  golden  rays  of  the 
sun ;  but  in  places  the  edges  were  broken,  trees  thrown  in 
wild  disorder  upon  one  another,  branches  twisted  and 
broken  into  heaps,  entirely  dried  or  covered  with  red  leaves 
and  spines. 

"  What  has  happened  to  this  forest  ? "  asked  Basia  of 
Zagloba. 

"  In  places  there  may  be  old  fellings  made  by  the  former 
inhabitants  against  the  horde,  or  by  the  ruffians  against  our 
troops ;  again  in  places  the  Moldavian  whirlwinds  rush 
through  the  woods ;  in  these  whirlwinds,  as  old  people  say, 
vampires,  or  real  devils,  tight  battles." 

"  But  has  your  grace  ever  seen  devils  fighting  ?  " 

"  As  to  seeing,  I  have  not  seen  them  ;  but  I  have  heard 
how  devils  cry  to  each  other  for  amusement,  '  U-ha !  U-ha ! ' 
Ask  Michael ;  he  has  heard  them." 

Basia,  though  daring,  feared  evil  spirits*  somewhat,  there- 
fore she  began  to  make  the  sign  of  the  cross  at  once.  "  A 
terrible  place  !  "  said  she. 

And  really  in  some  ravines  it  was  terrible  ;  for  it  was  not 
only  dark,  but  forbidding.  The  wind  was  not  blowing; 
the  leaves  and  branches  of  trees  made  no  rustle  ;  there  was 
heard  only  the  tramp  and  snorting  of  horses,  the  squeak  of 
wagons,  and  cries  uttered  by  drivers  in  the  most  dangerous 
places.  At  times  too,  the  Tartars  or  dragoons  began  to 
sing;  but  the  desert  itself  was  not  enlivened  with  one 
sound  of  man  or  beast.  If  the  ravines  made  a  gloomy 
impression,  the  upper  country,  even  where  the  pine  woods 
extended,  was  unfolded  jo37ously  before  the  eyes  of  the 
caravan.  The  weather  was  autumnal,  calm.  The  sun 
moved  along  the  plain  of  heaven,  unspotted  by  a  cloud, 
pouring  bountiful  rays  on  the  rocks,  on  the  fields  and  the 
forest.  In  that  gleam  the  pine-trees  seemed  ruddy  and 
golden ;  and  the  spider-webs  attached  to  the  branches  of 
trees,  to  the  reeds  and  the  grass,  shone  brightly,  as  if  they 
were  woven  from  sunbeams.  October  had  come  to  the 
middle  of  its  days ;  therefore,  many  birds,  especially  those 
sensitive  to  cold,  had  begun  to  pass  from  the  Commonwealth 
to  the  Black  Sea;  in  the  heavens  were  to  be  seen  rows 


178  PAN  MICHAEL. 

of  storks  flying  with  piercing  cries,  geese,  and  flocks  of 
teal. 

Here  and  there  floated  high  in  the  blue,  on  outspread 
wings,  eagles,  terrible  to  inhabitants  of  the  air;  here  and 
there  falcons,  eager  for  prey,  were  describing  circles  slowly. 
But  there  were  not  lacking,  especially  in  the  open  fields, 
those  birds  also  which  keep  to  the  earth,  and  hide  gladly  in 
tall  grass.  Every  little  while  flocks  of  rust-colored  par- 
tridges flew  noisily  from  under  the  steeds  of  the  Tartars ;  a 
number  of  times  also  Basia  saw,  though  from  a  distance, 
bustards  standing  on  watch,  at  sight  of  which  her  cheeks 
flushed,  and  her  eyes  began  to  glitter. 

"  I  will  go  coursing  with  Michael ! "  cried  she,  clapping 
her  hands. 

"  If  your  husband  were  a  sitter  at  home,"  said  Zagloba, 
"  his  beard  would  be  gray  soon  from  such  a  wife ;  but  I 
knew  to  whom  I  gave  you.  Another  woman  would  be 
thankful  at  least,  would  n't  she  ?  " 

Basia  kissed  Zagloba  straightway  on  both  cheeks,  so  that 
he  was  moved  and  said,  "  Loving  hearts  are  as  dear  to  a 
man  in  old  age  as  a  warm  place  behind  the  stove."  Then 
he  was  thoughtful  for  a  while  and  added,  "  It  is  a  wonder 
how  I  have  loved  the  fair  sex  all  my  life ;  and  if  I  had  to 
say  why,  I  know  not  myself,  for  often  they  are  bad  and 
deceitful  and  giddy.  But  because  they  are  as  helpless  as 
children,  if  an  injustice  strikes  one  of  them,  a  man's  heart 
pipes  from  pity.  Embrace  me  again,  or  not !  " 

Basia  would  have  been  glad  to  embrace  the  whole  world ; 
therefore  she  satisfied  Zagloba's  wish  at  once,  and  they 
drove  on  in  excellent  humor.  They  went  slowly,  for  the 
oxen,  going  behind,  could  not  travel  faster,  and  it  was  dan- 
gerous to  leave  them  in  the  midst  of  those  forests  with  a 
small  number  of  men.  As  they  drew  near  Ushytsa,  the 
country  became  more  uneven,  the  desert  more  lonely,  and 
the  ravines  deeper.  Every  little  while  something  was 
injured  in  the  wagons,  and  sometimes  the  horses  were  stub- 
born; considerable  delays  took  place  through  this  cause. 
The  old  road,  which  led  once  to  Mohiloff,  was  grown  over 
with  forests  during  twenty  years,  so  that  traces  of  it  could 
barely  be  seen  here  and  there ;  consequently  they  had  to 
keep  to  the  trails  beaten  by  earlier  and  later  passages  of 
troops,  hence  frequently  misleading,  and  also  very  difficult. 
The  journey  did  not  pass  either  without  accident. 

On  the  slope  of  a  ravine  the  horse  stumbled  under  Melle 


PAN   MICHAEL.  179 

hovich,  riding  at  the  head  of  the  Tartars,  and  fell  to  the 
stony  bottom,  not  without  injury  to  the  rider,  who  cut  the 
crown  of  his  head  so  severely  that  consciousness  left  him 
for  a  time.  Basia  and  Zagloba  mounted  led  palfreys ;  and 
Basia  gave  command  to  put  the  Tartar  in  the  carriage  and 
drive  carefully.  Afterward  she  stopped  the  march  at  every 
spring,  and  with  her  own  hands  bound  his  head  with  cloths 
wet  with  cold  spring-water.  He  lay  for  a  time  with  closed 
eyes,  but  opened  them  at  last ;  and  when  Basia  bent  over  him 
and  asked  how  he  felt,  instead  of  an  answer  he  seized  her 
hand  and  pressed  it  to  his  white  lips.  Only  after  a  pause, 
as  if  collecting  his  thoughts  and  presence  of  mind,  did  he 
say  in  Russian,  — 

"  Oh,  1  am  well,  as  I  have  not  been  for  a  long  time." 

The  whole  day  passed  in  a  march  of  this  kind.  The  sun, 
growing  red  at  last  and  seeming  immense,  was  descending 
on  the  Moldavian  side;  the  Dnieper  was  gleaming  like  a 
fiery  ribbon,  and  from  the  east,  from  the  Wilderness,  dark- 
ness was  moving  on  slowly. 

Hreptyoff  was  not  far  away,  but  it  was  necessary  to  give 
rest  to  the  horses,  therefore  they  stopped  for  a  considerable 
halt.  This  and  that  dragoon  began  to  chant  prayers ;  the 
Tartars  dismounted,  spread  sheep-skins  on  the  ground,  and 
fell  to  praying  on  their  knees,  with  faces  turned  eastward. 
At  times  "  Allah !  Allah  ! "  sounded  through  all  the  ranks ; 
then  again  they  were  quiet;  holding  their  palms  turned 
upward  near  their  faces,  they  continued  in  attentive  prayer, 
repeating  only  from  time  to  time  drowsily  and  as  if  with  a 
sigh,  "  Lohichmen  ah  lohichmen  ! "  The  rays  of  the  sun 
fell  on  them  redder  and  redder ;  a  breeze  came  from  the 
west,  and  with  it  a  great  rustling  in  the  trees,  as  if  they 
wished  to  honor  before  night  Him  who  brings  out  on  the 
dark  heavens  thousands  of  glittering  stars.  Basia  looked 
with  great  curiosity  at  the  praying  of  the  Tartars ;  but  at 
the  thought  that  so  many  good  men,  after  lives  full  of  toil, 
would  go  straightway  after  death  to  hell's  fire,  her  heart 
was  oppressed,  especially  since  they,  though  they  met 
people  daily  who  professed  the  true  faith,  remained  of  their 
own  will  in  hardness  of  heart. 

Zagloba,  more  accustomed  to  those  things,  only  shrugged 
his  shoulders  at  the  pious  considerations  of  Basia,  and  said, 
"  These  sons  of  goats  are  not  admitted  to  heaven,  lest  they 
might  take  with  them  vile  insects." 

Then,  with  the  assistance  of  his  attendant,  he  put  on  a 


180  PAN   MICHAEL. 

coat  lined  with  hanging  threads,  —  an  excellent  defence 
against  evening  cold,  —  and  gave  command  to  move  on  ;  but 
barely  had  the  inarch  begun  when  on  the  opposite  heights 
five  horsemen  appeared.  The  Tartars  opened  ranks  at 
once. 

"  Michael ! "  cried  Basia,  seeing  the  man  riding  in  front. 

It  was  indeed  Volodyovski,  who  had  come  out  with  a  few 
horsemen  to  meet  his  wife.  Springing  forward,  they 
greeted  each  other  with  great  joy,  and  then  began  to  tell 
what  had  happened  to  each.  . 

Basia  related  how  the  journey  had  passed,  and  how  Pan 
Mellehovich  had  "  sprained  his  reason *  against  a  stone." 
The  little  knight  made  a  report  of  his  activity  in  Hreptyoff, 
in  which,  as  he  stated,  everything  was  ready  and  w-aiting  to 
receive  her,  for  five  hundred  axes  had  been  working  for 
three  weeks  on  buildings.  During  this  conversation  Pan 
Michael  bent  from  the  saddle  every  little  while,  and  seized 
his  young  wife  in  his  arms  ;  she,  it  was  clear,  was  not  very 
angry  at  that,  for  she  rode  at  his  side  there  so  closely  that 
the  horses  were  nearly  rubbing  against  each  other. 

The  end  of  the  journey  was  not  distant ;  meanwhile  a 
beautiful  night  came  down,  illuminated  by  a  great  golden 
moon.  But  the  moon  grew  paler  as  it  rose  from  the  steppes 
to  the  sky,  and  at  last  its  shining  was  darkened  by  a  con- 
flagration which  blazed  up  brightly  in  front  of  the  caravan. 

"  What  is  that  ?  "  inquired  Basia. 

"  You  will  see,"  said  Volodyovski,  "  as  soon  as  you  have 
passed  that  forest  which  divides  us  from  Hreptyoff." 

"  Is  that  Hreptyoff  already  ?  " 

"  You  would  see  it  as  a  thing  on  your  palm,  but  the  trees 
hide  it." 

They  rode  into  a  small  forest ;  but  they  had  not  ridden 
halfway  through  it  when  a  swarm  of  lights  appeared  on  the 
other  edge  like  a  swarm  of  fireflies,  or  glittering  stars. 
Those  stars  began  to  approach  with  amazing  rapidity  ;  and 
suddenly  the  whole  forest  was  quivering  with  shouts,  — 

"  Vivat  the  lady  !  Vivat  her  great  mightiness !  vivat 
our  commandress  !  vivat,  vivat ! " 

These  were  soldiers  who  had  hastened  to  greet  Basia. 
Hundreds  of  them  mingled  in  one  moment  with  the  Tartars. 
Each  held  on  a  long  pole  a  burning  taper,  fixed  in  a  split  at 
the  end  of  the  pole.  Some  had  iron  candlesticks  on  pikes, 

1  Injured  his  head. 


PAN  MICHAEL.  181 

from  which  burning  rosin  was  falling  in  the  form  of  long 
fiery  tears. 

Basia  was  surrounded  quickly  with  throngs  of  mustached 
faces,  threatening,  somewhat  wild,  but  radiant  with  joy. 
The  greater  number  of  them  had  never  seen  Basia  in  their 
lives ;  many  expected  to  meet  an  imposing  person ;  hence 
their  delight  was  all  the  greater  at  sight  of  that  lady,  almost 
a  child  in  appearance,  who  was  riding  on  a  white  palfrey 
and  bent  in  thanks  to  every  side  her  wonderful,  rosy  face, 
small  and  joyous,  but  at  the  same  time  greatly  excited  by 
the  unlooked-for  reception. 

"  I  thank  you,  gentlemen,"  said  she ;  "  I  know  that  this  is 
not  for  me."  But  her  silvery  voice  was  lost  in  the  vivats, 
and  the  forest  was  trembling  from  shouts. 

The  officers  from  the  squadron  of  the  starosta  of  Podolia 
and  the  chamberlain  of  Premysl,  Motovidlo's  Cossacks  and 
the  Tartars,  mingled  together.  Each  wished  to  see  the  lady 
commandress,  to  approach  her ;  some  of  the  most  urgent 
kissed  the  edge  of  her  skirt  or  her  foot  in  the  stirrup.  For 
these  half-wild  partisans,  inured  to  raids  and  man-hunting, 
to  bloodshed  and  slaughter,  that  was  a  sight  so  unusual,  so 
new,  that  in  presence  of  it  their  hard  hearts  were  moved, 
and  some  kind  of  feeling,  new  and  unknown  to  them,  was 
roused  in  their  breasts.  They  came  to  meet  her  out  of  love 
for  Pan  Michael,  wishing  to  give  him  pleasure,  and  perhaps 
to  flatter  him ;  and  behold  !  sudden  tenderness  seizes  them. 
That  smiling,  sweet,  and  innocent  face,  with  gleaming  eyes 
and  distended  nostrils,  became  dear  to  them  in  one  moment. 
"  That  is  our  child  ! "  cried  old  Cossacks,  real  wolves  of  the 
steppe.  "A  cherub,  Pan  Commander."  "She  is  a  morn- 
ing dawn  !  a  dear  flower  ! "  shouted  the  officers.  "  We  will 
fall,  one  after  another,  for  her  ! "  And  the  Tartars,  click- 
ing with  their  tongues,  put  their  palms  to  their  broad  breasts 
and  cried,  "  Allah  !  Allah  !  "  Volodyovski  was  greatly 
touched,  but  glad;  he  put  his  hands  on  his  hips  and  was 
proud  of  his  Basia. 

Shouts  were  heard  continually.  At  last  the  caravan  came 
out  of  the  forest,  and  before  the  eyes  of  the  newly  arrived 
appeared  firm  wooden  buildings,  erected  in  a  circle  on  high 
ground.  That  was  the  stanitsa  of  Hreptyoff,  as  clearly 
seen  then  as  in  daylight,  for  inside  the  stockade  enor- 
mous piles  were  burning,  on  which  whole  logs  had  been 
thrown.  The  square  was  full  of  fires,  but  smaller,  so  as  not 
to  burn  up  the  place.  The  soldiers  quenched  their  torches  j 


182  PAN  MICHAEL. 

then  each  drew  from  his  shoulder,  one  a  musket,  another  a 
gun,  a  third  a  pistol,  and  thundered  in  greeting  to  the  lady. 
Musicians  came  too  in  front  of  the  stockade  :  the  starosta's 
band  with  crooked  horns,  the  Cossacks  with  trumpets,  drums, 
and  various  stringed  instruments,  and  at  last  the  Tartars, 
pre-eminent  for  squeaking  pipes.  The  barking  of  the  gar- 
rison dogs  and  the  bellowing  of  terrified  cattle  added  still 
to  the  uproar. 

The  convoy  remained  now  in  the  rear,  and  in  front  rode 
Basia,  having  on  one  side  her  husband,  and  on  the  other 
Zagloba.  Over  the  gate,  beautifully  ornamented  with  birch 
boughs,  stood  black,  on  membranes  of  bladder  smeared  with 
tallow  and  lighted  from  the  inside,  the  inscription  :  — 

"  May  Cupid  give  you  many  happy  moments ! 
Dear  guests,  crescite,  multiplicaiidni !  " 

"  Vivant,  floreant ! "  cried  the  soldiers,  when  the  little 
knight  and  Basia  halted  to  read  the  inscription. 

"  For  God's  sake  ! "  said  Zagloba,  "  I  'm  a  guest  too ;  but 
if  that  wish  for  multiplication  concerns  me,  may  the  crows 
pluck  me  if  I  know  what  to  do  with  it." 

But  Pan  Zagloba  found  a  special  transparency  intended 
for  himself,  and  with  no  small  pleasure  he  read  on  it, — 

"  Long  live  our  great  mighty  Onufry  Zagloba, 
The  highest  ornament  of  the  whole  knighthood ! " 

Pan  Michael  was  very  joyful ;  the  officers  were  invited 
to  sup  with  him  ;  and  for  the  soldiers  he  gave  command 
to  roll  out  one  and  another  keg  of  spirits.  A  number  of 
bullocks  fell  also ;  these  the  men  began  at  once  to  roast  at 
the  fires.  They  sufficed  for  all  abundantly.  Long  into  the 
night  the  stanitsa  was  thundering  with  shouts  and  musket- 
shots,  so  that  fear  seized  the  bands  of  robbers  hidden  in  the 
ravines  of  Ushytsa. 


PAN  MICHAEL.  183 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 

PAN  MICHAEL  was  not  idle  in  his  stanitsa,  and  his  men 
lived  in  perpetual  toil.  One  hundred,  sometimes  a  smaller 
number,  remained  as  a  garrison  in  Hreptyoff ;  the  rest  were 
on  expeditions  continually.  The  more  considerable  detach- 
ments were  sent  to  clear  out  the  ravines  of  Ushytsa ;  and 
they  lived,  as  it  were,  in  endless  warfare,  for  bands  of 
robbers,  frequently  very  numerous,  offered  powerful  resist- 
ance, and  more  than  once  it  was  needful  to  fight  with  them 
regular  battles.  Such  expeditions  lasted  days,  and  at  times 
tens  of  days.  Pan  Michael  sent  smaller  parties  as  far  as 
Bratslav  for  news  of  the  horde  and  Doroshenko.  The  task 
of  these  parties  was  to  bring  in  informants,  and  therefore  to 
capture  them  on  the  steppes.  Some  went  down  the  Dniester 
to  Mohiloff  and  Yampol,  to  maintain  connection  with  com- 
mandants in  those  places  ;  some  watched  on  the  Moldavian 
side  ;  some  built  bridges  and  repaired  the  old  road. 

The  country  in  which  such  a  considerable  activity  reigned 
became  pacified  gradually ;  those  of  the  inhabitants  who 
were  more  peaceful,  and  less  enamoured  of  robbery,  returned 
by  degrees  to  their  deserted  habitations,  at  first  stealthily, 
then  with  more  confidence.  A  few  Jewish  handicraftsmen 
came  up  to  Hreptyoff  itself ;  sometimes  a  more  considerable 
Armenian  merchant  looked  in  ;  shopkeepers  visited  the  place 
more  frequently  :  Volodyovski  had  therefore  a  not  barren 
hope  that  if  God  and  the  hetman  would  permit  him  to 
remain  a  longer  time  in  command,  that  country  which  had 
grown  wild  would  assume  another  aspect.  That  work  was 
merely  the  beginning ;  there  was  a  world  of  things  yet  to 
be  done :  the  roads  were  still  dangerous ;  the  demoralized 
people  entered  into  friendship  more  readily  with  robbers 
than  with  troops,  and  for  any  cause  hid  themselves  again 
in  the  rocky  gorges ;  the  fords  of  the  Dnieper  were 
often  passed  stealthily  by  bands  made  up  of  Wallachians, 
Cossacks,  Hungarians,  Tartars,  and  God  knows  what  people. 
These  sent  raids  through  the  country,  attacking  in  Tartar 
fashion  villages  and  towns,  gathering  up  everything  which 
let  itself  be  gathered ;  for  a  time  yet  it  was  impossible  to 


184  PAN  MICHAEL. 

drop  a  sabre  from  the  hand  in  those  regions,  or  to  hang  a 
musket  on  a  nail ;  still  a  beginning  was  made,  and  the 
future  promised  to  be  favorable. 

It  was  necessary  to  keep  the  most  sensitive  ear  toward 
the  eastern  side.  Prom  Dorosheuko's  forces  and  his  allied 
chambuls  were  detached  at  short  intervals  parties  larger  or 
smaller;  and  while  attacking  the  Polish  commands,  they 
spread  devastation  and  fire  in  the  region  about.  But  since 
these  parties  were  independent,  or  at  least  seemed  so,  the 
little  knight  crushed  them  without  fear  of  bringing  a 
greater  storm  on  the  country ;  and  without  ceasing  in  his 
resistance,  he  sought  them  himself  in  the  steppe  so  effect- 
ually that  in  time  he  made  attack  disgusting  to  the  boldest. 

Meanwhile  Basia  managed  affairs  in  Hreptyoff.  She  was 
delighted  immensely  with  that  soldier-life  which  she  had 
never  seen  before  so  closely,  —  the  movement,  marches, 
returns  of  expeditions,  the  prisoners.  She  told  the  little 
knight  that  she  must  take  part  in  one  expedition  at  least ; 
but  for  the  time  she  was  forced  to  be  satisfied  with  this, 
that  she  sat  on  her  pony  occasionally,  and  visited  with  her 
husband  and  Zagloba  the  environs  of  Hreptyoff.  On  such 
expeditions  she  hunted  foxes  and  bustards  ;  sometimes  the 
fox  stole  out  of  the  grass  and  shot  along  through  the 
valleys.  Then  they  chased  him ;  but  Basia  kept  in  front 
to  the  best  of  her  power,  right  after  the  dogs,  so  as  to  fall 
on  the  wearied  beast  first  and  thunder  into  his  red  eyes 
from  her  pistol.  Pan  Zagloba  liked  best  to  hunt  with 
falcons,  of  which  the  officers  had  a  number  of  pairs  very 
well  trained. 

Basia  accompanied  him  too ;  but  after  Basia  Pan  Michael 
sent  secretly  a  number  of  tens  of  men  to  give  aid  in 
emergency,  for  though  it  was  known  always  in  Hreptyoff 
what  men  were  doing  in  the  desert  for  twenty  miles  around, 
Pan  Michael  preferred  to  be  cautious.  The  soldiers  loved 
Basia  more  every  day,  for  she  took  pains  with  their  food 
and  drink ;  she  nursed  the  sick  and  wounded.  Even  the 
sullen  Mellehovich,  whose  head  pained  him  continually, 
and  who  had  a  harder  and  a  wilder  heart  than  others,  grew 
bright  at  the  sight  of  her.  Old  soldiers  were  in  raptures 
over  her  knightly  daring  and  close  knowledge  of  military 
affairs. 

"If  the  Little  Falcon  were  gone,"  said  they,  "she  might 
take  command,  and  it  would  not  be  grievous  to  fall  under 
such  a  leader." 


PAN  MICHAEL.  185 

At  times  it  happened  too  that  when  some  disorder  arose 
in  the  service  during  Pan  Michael's  absence,  Basia  repri- 
manded the  soldiers,  and  obedience  to  her  was  great ;  old 
warriors  were  more  grieved  by  reproval  from  her  mouth 
than  by  punishment,  which  the  veteran  Pan  Michael 
inflicted  unsparingly  for  dereliction  of  duty.  Great  dis- 
cipline reigned  always  in  the  command,  for  Volodyovski, 
reared  in  the  school  of  Prince  Yeremi,  knew  how  to  hold 
soldiers  with  an  iron  hand;  and,  moreover,  the  presence  of 
Basia  softened  wild  manners  somewhat.  Every  man  tried 
to  please  her ;  every  man  thought  of  her  rest  and  comfort ; 
hence  they  avoided  whatever  might  annoy  her. 

In  the  light  squadron  of  Pan  Nikolai  Pototski  there  were 
many  officers,  experienced  and  polite,  who,  though  they  had 
grown  rough  in  continual  wars  and  adventures,  still  formed 
a  pleasant  company.  These,  with  the  officers  from  other 
squadrons,  often  spent  an  evening  with  the  colonel,  telling 
of  events  and  wars  in  which  they  had  taken  part  personally. 
Among  these  Pan  Zagloba  held  the  first  place.  He  was  the 
oldest,  had  seen  most  and  done  much ;  but  when,  after  one 
and  the  second  goblet,  he  was  dozing  in  a  comfortable 
stuffed  chair,  which  was  brought  for  him  purposely,  others 
began.  And  they  had  something  to  tell,  for  there  were 
some  who  had  visited  Sweden  and  Moscow;  there  were 
some  who  had  passed  their  years  of  youth  at  the  Saitch 
before  the  days  of  Hmelnitski;  there  were  some  who  as 
captives  had  herded  sheep  in  the  Crimea;  who  in  slavery 
had  dug  wells  in  Bagchesarai ;  who  had  visited  Asia  Minor ; 
who  had  rowed  through  the  Archipelago  in  Turkish  galleys; 
who  had  beaten  with  their  foreheads  on  the  grave  of  Christ 
in  Jerusalem ;  who  had  experienced  every  adventure  and 
every  mishap,  and  still  had  appeared  again  under  the  flag  to 
defend  to  the  end  of  their  lives,  to  the  last  breath,  those 
border  regions  steeped  in  blood. 

When  in  November  the  evenings  became  longer  and  there 
was  peace  on  the  side  of  the  broad  steppe,  for  the  grass  had 
withered,  they  used  to  assemble  in  the  colonel's  house  daily. 
Hither  came  Pan  Motovidlo,  the  leader  of  the  Cossacks,  — 
a  Russian  by  blood,  a  man  lean  as  pincers  and  tall  as  a 
lance,  no  longer  young ;  he  had  not  left  the  field  for  twenty 
years  and  more.  Pan  Deyma  came  too,  the  brother  of  that 
one  who  had  killed  Pan  Ubysh^  and  with  them  Pan  Mushal- 
ski,  a  man  formerly  wealthy,  but  who,  taken  captive  in 
early  years,  had  rowed  in  a  Turkish  galley,  and  escaping 


186  PAN  MICHAEL. 

from  bondage,  had  left  his  property  to  others,  and  with  sabre 
in  hand  was  avenging  his  wrongs  on  the  race  of  Mohammed. 
He  was  an  incomparable  bowman,  who,  when  he  chose, 
pierced  with  an  arrow  a  heron  in  its  lofty  flight.  There 
came  also  the  two  partisans,  Pan  Vilga  and  Pan  Nyena- 
shinyets,  great  soldiers,  and  Pan  Hromyka  and  Pan  Bavdy- 
novich,  and  many  others.  When  these  began  to  tell  tales 
and  to  throw  forth  words  quickly,  the  whole  Oriental  world 
was  seen  in  their  narratives,  —  Bagchesarai  and  Stambul, 
the  minarets  and  sanctuaries  of  the  false  prophet,  the  blue 
waters  of  the  Bosphorus,  the  fountains,  and  the  palace  of 
the  Sultan,  the  swarms  of  men  in  the  stone  city,  the  troops, 
the  janissaries,  the  dervishes>  and  that  whole  terrible  locust- 
swarm,  brilliant  as  a  rainbow,  against  which  the  Common- 
wealth with  bleeding  breast  was  defending  the  Kussian 
cross,  and  after  it  all  the  crosses  and  churches  in  Europe. 

The  old  soldiers  sat  in  a  circle  in  the  broad  room,  like  a 
flock  of  storks  which,  wearied  with  flying,  had  settled  on 
some  grave-mound  of  the  steppe  and  were  making  them- 
selves heard  with  great  uproar.  In  the  fireplace  logs  of 
pitch-pine  were  burning,  casting  out  sharp  gleams  through 
the  whole  room.  Moldavian  wine  was  heated  at  the  fire  by 
the  order  of  Basia ;  and  attendants  dipped  it  with  tin 
dippers  and  gave  it  to  the  knights.  From  outside  the  walls 
came  the  calls  of  the  sentries ;  the  crickets,  of  which  Pan 
Michael  had  complained,  were  chirping  in  the  room  and 
whistling  sometimes  in  the  chinks  stuffed  with  moss  ;  the 
November  wind,  blowing  from  the  north,  grew  more  and 
more  chilly.  During  such  cold  it  was  most  agreeable  to  sit 
in  a  comfortable,  well-lighted  room,  and  listen  to  the 
adventures  of  the  knights. 

On  such  an  evening  Pan  Mushalski  spoke  as  follows  :  — 

"  May  the  Most  High  have  in  His  protection  the  whole 
sacred  Commonwealth,  us  all,  and  among  us  especially  her 
grace,  the  lady  here  present,  the  worthy  wife  of  our  com- 
mander, on  whose  beauty  our  eyes  are  scarcely  worthy  to 
gaze.  I  have  no  wish  to  rival  Pan  Zagloba,  whose  adven- 
tures would  have  roused  the  greatest  wonder  in  Dido  herself 
and  her  charming  attendants  ;  but  if  you,  gentlemen,  will 
give  time  to  hear  my  adventures,  I  will  not  delay,  lest  I 
offend  the  honorable  company. 

"In  youth  I  inherited  jn  the  Ukraine  a  considerable 
estate  near  Tarashcha.  I  had  two  villages  from  my 
mother  in  a  peaceable  region  near  Yaslo;  but  I  chose  to 


PAN  MICHAEL.  187 

live  in  my  father's  place,  since  it  was  nearer  the  horde  and 
more  open  to  adventure.  Knightly  daring  drew  me  toward 
the  Saitch,  but  for  us  there  was  nothing  there  at  that  time ; 
I  went  to  the  Wilderness  in  company  with  restless 
spirits,  and  experienced  delight.  It  was  pleasant  for  me 
on  my  lands ;  one  thing  alone  pained  me  keenly,  —  I  had  a 
bad  neighbor.  He  was  a  mere  peasant,  from  Byalotserkov, 
who  had  been  in  his  youth  at  the  Saitch,  where  he  rose  to 
the  office  of  kuren  ataman,  and  was  an  envoy  from  the 
Cossacks  to  Warsaw,  where  he  became  a  noble.  His  name 
was  Didyuk.  And  you,  gentlemen,  must  know  that  the 
Mushalskis  derive  their  descent  from  a  certain  chief  of  the 
Samnites,  called  Musca,  which  in  our  tongue  means  rtiucha 
(fly).  That  Musca,  after  fruitless  attacks  on  the  Romans, 
came  to  the  court  of  Zyemovit,  the  son  of  Piast,  who 
renamed  him,  for  greater  convenience,  Muscalski,  which 
later  on  his  posterity  changed  to  Mushalski.  Feeling  that  I 
was  of  such  noble  blood,  I  looked  with  great  abomination 
on  that  Didyuk.  If  the  scoundrel  had  known  how  to 
respect  the  honor  which  met  him,  and  to  recognize  the 
supreme  perfection  of  the  rank  of  noble  above  all  others, 
perhaps  I  might  have  said  nothing.  But  he,  while  holding 
land  like  a  noble,  mocked  at  the  dignity,  and  said  frequently : 
'  Is  my  shadow  taller  now  ?  I  was  a  Cossack,  and  a  Cossack 
I  '11  remain ;  but  nobility  and  all  you  devils  of  Poles  are 
that  for  me  —  '  I  cannot  in  this  place  relate  to  you,  gentle- 
men, what  foul  gesture  he  made,  for  the  presence  of  her 
grace,  the  lady,  will  not  in  any  way  permit  me  to  do  so. 
But  a  wild  rage  seized  me,  and  I  began  to  persecute  him. 
He  was  not  afraid ;  he  was  a  resolute  man,  and  paid  me 
with  interest.  I  would  have  attacked  him  with  a  sabre ; 
but  I  did  not  like  to  do  so,  in  view  of  his  insignificant 
origin.  I  hated  him  as  the  plague,  and  he  pursued  me 
with  venom.  Once,  on  the  square  in  Tarashcha,  he  fired 
at  me,  and  came  within  one  hair  of  killing  me  ;  in  return,  I 
opened  his  head  with  a  hatchet.  Twice  I  invaded  his 
house  with  my  servants,  and  twice  he  fell  upon  mine  with 
his  ruffians.  He  could  not  master  me,  neither  could  I  over- 
come him.  I  wished  to  use  law  against  him;  bah!  what 
kind  of  law  is  there  in  the  Ukraine,  when  ruins  of  towns 
are  still  smoking  ?  Whoever  can  summon  ruffians  in  the 
Ukraine  may  jeer  at  the  Commonwealth.  So  did  he  do, 
blaspheming  besides  this  common  mother  of  ours,  not 
remembering  for  a  moment  that  she,  by  raising  him  to  the 


188  PAN   MICHAEL. 

rank  of  noble,  had  pressed  him  to  her  bosom,  given  him 
privileges  in  virtue  of  which  he  owned  land  and  that 
boundless  liberty  which  he  could  not  have  had  under  any 
other  rule.  If  we  could  have  met  in  neighbor  fashion, 
arguments  would  not  have  failed  me ;  but  we  did  not  see 
each  other  except  with  a  musket  in  one  hand  and  a  fire- 
brand in  the  other.  Hatred  increased  in  me  daily,  until  I 
had  grown  yellow.  I  was  thinking  always  of  one  thing,  — 
how  to  seize  him.  I  felt,  however,  that  hatred  was  a  sin ; 
and  I  only  wished,  in  return  for  his  insults  to  nobility,  to 
tear  his  skin  with  sticks,  and  then,  forgiving  him  all  his 
sins,  as  beseemed  me,  a  true  Christian,  to  give  command  to 
shoot  him  down  simply.  But  the  Lord  God  ordained 
otherwise. 

"Beyond  the  village  I  had  a  nice  bee  farm,  and  went  one 
day  to  look  at  it.  The  time  was  near  evening.  I  was  there 
barely  the  length  of  ten  '  Our  Fathers,'  when  some  clamor 
struck  my  ears.  I  looked  around.  Smoke  like  a  cloud  was 
over  the  village.  In  a  moment  men  were  rushing  toward 
me.  The  horde !  the  horde  !  And  right  there  behind  the 
men  a  legion,  I  tell  you.  Arrows  were  flying  as  thickly 
as  drops  in  a  rain  shower ;  and  wherever  I  looked,  sheep-skin 
coats  and  the  devilish  snouts  of  the  horde.  I  sprang  to 
horse  !  But  before  I  could  touch  the  stirrup  with  my  foot, 
five  or  six  lariats  were  on  me.  I  tore  away,  for  I  was 
strong  then.  Nee  Hercules !  Three  months  afterward  I 
found  myself  with  another  captive  in  a  Crimean  village 
beyond  Bagchesarai.  Salma  Bey  was  the  name  of  my 
master.  He  was  a  rich  Tartar,  but  a  sullen  man  and  cruel 
to  captives.  We  had  to  work  under  clubs,  to  dig  wells,  and 
toil  in  the  fields.  I  wished  to  ransom  myself;  I  had  the 
means  to  do  so.  Through  a  certain  Armenian  I  wrote 
letters  to  Yaslo.  I  know  not  whether  the  letters  were 
delivered,  or  the  ransom  intercepted ;  it  is  enough  that 
nothing  came.  They  took  me  to  Tsargrad 1  and  sold  me  to 
be  a  galley-slave. 

"  There  is  much  to  tell  of  that  city,  for  I  know  not 
whether  there  is  a  greater  and  a  more  beautiful  one  in  the 
world.  People  are  there  as  numerous  as  grass  on  the 
steppe,  or  "as  stones  in  the  Dniester;  strong  battlemented 
walls;  tower  after  tower.  Dogs  wander  through  the  city 
together  with  the  people ;  the  Turks  do  not  .harm  them, 

1  The  Tsar's  city,  — Constantinople. 


PAN   MICHAEL.  189 

because  they  feel  their  relationship,  being  dog  brothers 
themselves.  There  are  no  other  ranks  with  them  but  lords 
and  slaves,  and  there  is  nothing  more  grievous  than  Pagan 
captivity.  God  knows  whether  it  is  true,  but  I  heard  in 
the  galleys  that  the  waters  in  Tsargrad,  such  as  the  Bos- 
phorus,  and  the  Golden  Horn  too,  which  enters  the  heart  of 
the  city,  have  come  from  tears  shed  by  captives.  Not  a  few 
of  mine  were  shed  there. 

"Terrible  is  the  Turkish  power,  and  to  no  potentate  are 
so  many  kings  subject  as  to  the  Sultan.  The  Turks  them- 
selves say  that  were  it  not  for  Lehistan,  —  thus  they  name 
our  mother,  —  they  would  have  been  lords  of  the  earth  long 
ago.  'Behind  the  shoulders  of  the  Pole,'  say  they,  'the  rest 
of  the  world  live  in  injustice  ;  for  the  Pole,'  say  they,  '  lies 
like  a  dog  in  front  of  the  cross,  and  bites  our  hands.'  And 
they  are  right,  for  it  is  that  way,  and  it  will  be  that  way. 
And  we  here  in  Hreptyoff  and  the  commands  farther  on  in 
Mohiloff,  in  Yampol,  in  Rashkoff,  —  what  else  are  we 
doing  ?  There  is  a  world  of  wickedness  in  our  Common- 
wealth ;  but  still  I  think  that  God  will  account  to  us  for 
this  service  sometime,  and  perhaps  men  too  will  account 
to  us. 

"But  now  I  will  return  to  what  happened  to  me.  The 
captives  who  live  on  land,  in  towns  and  villages,  groan  in 
less  suffering  than  those  who  row  in  galleys.  For  the 
galley-slaves  when  once  riveted  on  the  bench  near  the 
oars  are  never  unriveted,  day  or  night,  or  festival;  they 
must  live  there  in  chains  till  they  die ;  and  if  the  vessel 
goes  down  in  a  battle,  they  must  go  with  it.  They  are  all 
naked ;  the  cold  freezes  them ;  the  rain  wets  them  ;  hunger 
pinches  them  ;  and  for  that  there  is  no  help  but  tears  and 
terrible  toil,  for  the  oars  are  so  heavy  and  large  that  two 
men  are  needed  at  one  of  them. 

"  They  brought  me  in  the  night  and  riveted  my  chains, 
having  put  me  in  front  of  some  comrade  in  misery  whom  in 
the  darkness  I  could  not  distinguish.  When  I  heard  that 
beating  of  the  hammer  and  the  sound  of  the  fetters,  dear 
God !  it  seemed  to  me  that  they  were  driving  the  nails  of 
my  coffin  ;  I  would  have  preferred  even  that.  I  prayed,  but 
hope  in  my  heart  was  as  if  the  wind  had  blown  it  away.  A 
kavadji  stifled  my  groans  with  blows ;  I  sat  there  in  silence 
all  night,  till  day  began  to  break.  I  looked  then  on  him 
who  was  to  work  the  same  oar  with  me.  0  dear  Jesus 
Christ !  can  you  guess  who  was  in  front  of  me,  gentlemen  ? 
Didyuk ! 


190  PAN  MICHAEL. 

"I  knew  him  at  once,  though  he  was  naked,  had  grown 
thin,  and  the  beard  had  coine  down  to  his  waist,  —  for  he  had 
been  sold  long  before  to  the  galleys.  I  gazed  on  him,  and  he 
on  me ;  he  recognized  me.  We  said  not  a  word  to  each  other. 
See  what  had  come  to  us !  Still,  there  was  such  rancor  in 
both  that  not  only  did  we  not  greet  each  other,  but  hatred 
burst  up  like  a  flame  in  us,  and  delight  seized  the  heart  of 
each  that  his  enemy  had  to  suffer  the  same  things  as  he.  That 
very  day  the  galley  moved  on  its  voyage.  It  was  strange  to 
hold  one  oar  with  your  bitterest  enemy,  to  eat  from  one  dish 
with  him  food  which  at  home  with  us  dogs  would  not  eat,  to 
endure  the  same  tyranny,  to  breathe  the  same  air,  to  suffer 
together,  to  weep  face  to  face.  We  sailed  through  the  Helles- 
pont, and  then  the  Archipelago.  Island  after  island  is  there, 
and  all  in  the  power  of  the  Turk.  Both  shores  also,  —  a  whole 
world  !  Oh,  how  we  suffered !  In  the  day,  heat  indescrib- 
able. The  sun  burned  with  such  force  that  the  waters 
seemed  to  flame  from  it ;  and  when  those  flames  began  to 
quiver  and  dance  on  the  waves,  you  would  have  said  that  a 
fiery  rain  was  falling.  Sweat  poured  from  us,  and  our 
tongues  cleaved  to  the  roofs  of  our  mouths.  At  night  the 
cold  bit  us  like  a  dog.  Solace  from  no  place ;  nothing  but 
suffering,  sorrow  for  lost  happiness,  torment  and  pain. 
Words  cannot  tell  it.  At  one  station  in  the  Grecian  land 
we  saw  from  the  galley  famous  ruins  of  a  temple  which  the 
Greeks  reared  in  old  times.  Column  stands  there  by 
column ;  as  if  gold,  that  marble  is  yellow  from  age.  All 
was  seen  clearly,  for  it  was  on  a  steep  height,  and  the  sky 
is  like  turquoise  in  Greece.  Then  we  sailed  on  around  the 
Morea.  Day  followed  day,  week  followed  week;  Didyuk 
and  I  had  not  exchanged  a  word,  for  pride  and  rancor  dwelt 
still  in  our  hearts.  But  we  began  to  break  slowly  under 
God's  hand.  From  toil  and  change  of  air  the  sinful  flesh 
was  falling  from  our  bones ;  wounds,  given  by  the  lash, 
were  festering  in  the  sun.  In  the  night  we  prayed  for 
death.  When  I  dozed  a  little,  I  heard  Didyuk  say, '  0  Christ, 
have  mercy  !  Holy  Most  Pure,  have  mercy  !  Let  me  die.' 
He  also  heard  and"saw  how  I  stretched  forth  my  hands  to 
the  Mother  of  God  and  her  Child.  And  here  it  was  as  if 
the  sea  had  blown  hatred  from  the  heart.  There  was  less 
of  it,  and  then  less.  At  last,  when  I  had  wept  over  myself, 
I  wept  over  him.  We  looked  on  each  other  then  differently. 
Kay !  we  began  to  help  each  other.  When  sweating  and 
deathly  weariness  came  on  me,  he  rowed  alone ;  when  he 


PAN   MICHAEL.  191 

was  in  a  similar  state,  I  did  the  same  for  him.  When  they 
brought  a  plate  of  food,  each  one  considered  that  the  other 
ought  to  have  it.  But,  gentlemen,  see  what  the  nature  of 
man  is !  Speaking  plainly,  we  loved  each  other  already, 
but  neither  wished  to  say  the  word  first.  The  rogue  was  in 
him,  the  Ukraine  spirit !  We  changed  only  when  it  had 
become  terribly  hard  for  us  and  grievous,  and  we  said 
to-day,  'to-morrow  we  shall  meet  the  Venetian  fleet  — ' 
Provisions  too  were  scarce,  and  they  spared  everything  on 
us  but  the  lash.  Night  came ;  we"  were  groaning  in  quiet, 
and  he  in  his  way,  I  in  mine,  were  praying  still  more 
earnestly.  I  looked  by  the  light  of  the  moon ;  tears  were 
flowing  down  his  beard  in  a  torrent.  My  heart  rose,  and  I 
said,  '  Didyuk,  we  are  from  the  same  parts ;  let  us  forgive 
each  other  our  offences.'  When  he  heard  this,  dear  God ! 
did  n't  the  man  sob,  and  pull  till  his  chains  rattled !  We 
fell  into  each  other's  arms  over  the  oar,  kissing  each  other 
and  weeping.  I  cannot  tell  you  how  long  we  held  each 
other,  for  we  forgot  ourselves,  but  we  were  trembling 
from  sobs." 

Here  Fan  Mushalski  stopped,  and  began  to  remove  some- 
thing from  around  his  eyes  with  his  fingers.  A  moment  of 
silence  followed ;  but  the  cold  north  wind  whistled  from 
between  the  beams,  and  in  the  room  the  fire  hissed  and  the 
crickets  chirped.  Then  Pan  Mushalski  panted,  drew  a 
deep  breath,  and  continued :  — 

"  The  Lord  God,  as  will  appear,  blessed  us  and  showed 
us  His  favor;  but  at  the  time  we  paid  bitterly  for  our 
brotherly  feeling.  While  we  were  embracing,  we  entangled 
the  chains  so  that  we  could  not  untangle  them.  The  over- 
seers came  and  extricated  us,  but  the  lash  whistled  above 
us  fojr  more  than  an  hour.  They  beat  us  without  looking 
where.  Blood  flowed  from  me,  flowed  also  from  Didyuk ; 
the  two  bloods  mingled  and  went  in  one  stream  to  the  sea. 
But  that  is  nothing !  it  is  an  old  story  —  to  the  glory  of 
God! 

"  From  that  time  it  did  not  come  to  my  head  that  I  was 
descended  from  the  Samnites,  and  Didyuk  a  peasant  from 
Byalotserkov,  recently  ennobled.  I  could  not  have  loved  my 
own  brother  more  than  I  loved  him.  Even  if  he  had  not 
been  ennobled,  it  would  have  been  one  to  me,  — though  I 
preferred  that  he  should  be  a  noble.  And  he,  in  old  fashion, 
as  once  he  had  returned  hatred  witli  interest,  now  returned 
love.  Such  was  his  nature. 


192  PAN  MICHAEL. 

"  There  was  a  battle  on  the  following  day.  The  Venetians 
scattered  to  the  four  winds  the  Turkish  fleet.  Our  galley, 
shattered  terribly  by  a  culverin,  took  refuge  at  some  small 
desert  island,  simply  a  rock  sticking  out  of  the  sea.  It  was 
necessary  to  repair  it ;  and  since  the  soldiers  had  perished, 
and  hands  were  lacking,  the  officers  were  forced  to  unchain 
us  and  give  us  axes.  The  moment  we  landed  I  glanced  at 
Didyuk ;  but  the  same  thing  was  in  his  head  that  was  in 
mine.  '  Shall  it  be  at  once  ?  '  inquired  he  of  me.  '  At 
once  ! '  said  I ;  and  without  thinking  further,  I  struck  the 
chubachy  on  the  head;  and  Didyuk  struck  the  captain. 
After  us  others  rose  like  a  flame !  In  an  hour  we  had 
finished  the  Turks ;  then  we  repaired  the  galley  somehow, 
took  our  seats  in  it  without  chains,  and  the  Merciful  God 
commanded  the  winds  to  blow  us  to  Venice. 

"  We  reached  the  Commonwealth  on  begged  bread.  I 
divided  my  estate  at  Yaslo  with  Didyuk,  and  we  both  took 
the  field  again  to  pay  for  our  tears  and  our  blood.  At  the 
time  of  Podhaytse  Didyuk  went  through  the  Saitoh  to  join 
Sirka,  and  with  him  to  the  Crimea.  What  they  did  there 
and  what  a  diversion  they  made,  you,  gentlemen,  know. 

"On  his  way  home  Didyuk,  sated  with  vengeance,  was 
killed  by  an  arrow.  I  was  left ;  and  as  often  as  I  stretch  a 
bow,  I  do  it  for  him,  and  there  are  not  wanting  in  this  hon- 
orable company  witnesses  to  testify  that  I  have  delighted 
his  soul  in  that  way  more  than  once." 

Here  Pan  Mushalski  was  silent,  and  again  nothing  was 
to  be  heard  but  the  whistling  of  the  north  wind  and  the 
crackling  of  the  fire.  The  old  warrior  fixed  his  glance  on 
the  flaming  logs,  and  after  a  long  silence  concluded  as 
follows  :  — 

"  Nalevaiko  and  Loboda  have  been  ;  Hmelnitski  has  been  ; 
and  now  Doroshenko  has  come.  The  earth  is  not  dried  of 
blood  ;  we  are  wrangling  and  fighting,  a.nd  still  God  has 
sown  in  our  hearts  some  seeds  of  love,  and  they  lie  in 
barren  ground,  as  it  were,  till  under  the  oppression  and 
under  the  chain  of  the  Pagan,  till  from  Tartar  captivity, 
they  give  fruit  unexpectedly." 

"  Trash  is  trash  ! "  said  Zagloba,  waking  up  suddenly. 


PAN  MICHAEL.  193 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

MELLEHOVICH  was  regaining  health  slowly;  but  because 
he  had  taken  no  part  in  expeditions  and  was  sitting 
confined  to  his  room,  no  one  was  thinking  of  the  man.  All 
at  once  an  incident  turned  the  attention  of  all  to  him. 

Pan  Motovidlo's  Cossacks  seized  a  Tartar  lurking  near 
the  stanitsa  in  a  certain  strange  manner,  and  brought  him 
to  Hreptyoff.  After  a  strict  examination  it  came  out  that 
he  was  a  Lithuanian  Tartar,  but  of  those  who,  deserting 
their  service  and  residence  in  the  Commonwealth,  had  gone 
under  the  power  of  the  Sultan.  He  came  from  beyond  the 
Dniester,  and  had  a  letter  from  Krychinski  to  Mellehovich. 

Pan  Michael  was  greatly  disturbed  at  this,  and  called  the 
officers  to  council  immediately.  "Gracious  gentlemen," 
said  he,  "  you  know  well  how  many  Tartars,  even  of  those 
who  have  lived  for  years  immemorial  in  Lithuania  and 
here  in  Russia,  have  gone  over  recently  to  the  horde,  re- 
paying the  Commonwealth  for  its  kindness  with  treason. 
Therefore  we  should  not  trust  any  one  of  them  too  much, 
and  should  follow  their  acts  with  watchful  eye.  We  have 
here  too  a  small  Tartar  squadron,  numbering  one  hundred 
and  fifty  good  horse,  led  by  Mellehovich.  I  do  not  know 
this  Mellehovich  from  of  old ;  I  know  only  this,  that  the 
hetman  has  made  him  captain  for  eminent  services,  and  sent 
him  here  with  his  men.  It  was  a  wonder  to  me,  too,  that 
no  one  of  you  gentlemen  knew  him  before  his  entrance 
into  service,  or  heard  of  him.  This  fact,  that  our  Tartars 
love  him  greatly  and  obey  him  blindly,  I  explained  by  his 
bravery  and  famous  deeds;  but  even  they  do  not  know 
whence  he  is,  nor  who  he  is.  Relying  on  the  recommenda- 
tion of  the  hetman,  I  have  not  suspected  him  of  anything 
hitherto,  nor  have  I  examined  him,  though  he  shrouds 
himself  in  a  certain  secrecy.  People  have  various  fancies  ; 
and  this  is  nothing  to  me,  if  each  man  performs  his  own 
duty.  But,  you  see,  Pan  Motovidlo's  men  have  captured  a 
Tartar  who  was. bringing  a  letter  from  Krychinski  to  Melle- 
hovich  ;  and  I  do  not  know  whether  you  are  aware,  gentle- 
men, who  Krychinski  is  ?  " 


194  PAN  MICHAEL. 

"  Of  course  !  "  said  Pan  Nyenashinyets.  "  I  know  Kry- 
chinski  personally,  and  all  know  him  now  from  his  evil 
fame." 

"  We  were  at  school  together  — "  began  Pan  Zagloba ; 
but  he  stopped  suddenly,  remembering  that  in  such  an  event 
Krychinski  must  be  ninety  years  old,  and  at  that  age  men 
were  not  usually  righting. 

"Speaking  briefly,"  continued  the  little  knight,  "Kry- 
chinski is  a  Polish  Tartar.  He  was  a  colonel  of  one  of  our 
Tartar  squadrons  ;  then  he  betrayed  his  country  and  went 
over  to  the  Dobrudja  horde,  where  he  has,  as  I  hear,  great 
significance,  for  there"  they  hope  evidently  that  he  will  bring 
over  the  rest  of  the  Tartars  to  the  Pagan  side.  With  such 
a  man  Mellehovich  has  entered  into  relations,  the  best  proof 
of  which  is  this  letter,  the  tenor  of  which  is  as  follows." 
Here  the  little  knight  unfolded  the  letter,  struck  the  top 
of  it  with  his  hand,  and  began  to  read  :  — 

BROTHER  GREATLY  BELOVED  OF  MY  SOUL,  —  Your  messenger 
came  to  us  and  delivered  — 

"  He  writes  Polish  ?  "  interrupted  Zagloba. 

"  Krychinski,  like  all  our  Tartars,  knows  only  Russian 
and  Polish,"  said  the  little  knight ;  "  and  Mellehovich  also 
will  surely  not  gnaw  in  Tartar.  Listen,  gentlemen,  with- 
out interruption." 

—  and  delivered  your  letter.  May  God  bring  about  that  all  will  be 
well,  and  that  you  will  accomplish  what  you  desire !  We  take 
counsel  here  often  with  Moravski,  Aleksandrovich,  Tarasovski,  and 
Groholski,  and  write  to  other  brothers,  taking  their  advice  too,  touch- 
ing the  means  through  which  that  which  you  desire  may  come  to  pass 
most  quickly.  News  came  to  us  of  how  you  suffered  loss  of  health ; 
therefore  I  send  a  man  to  see  you  with  his  eyes  and  bring  us  consola- 
tion. Maintain  the  secret  carefully,  for  God  forbid  that  it  should  be 
known  prematurely  !  May  God  make  your  race  as  numerous  as  stars 
in  the  sky  I 

KRYCHINSKI. 

Volodyovski  finished,  and  began  to  cast  his  eyes  around 
on  those  present;  and  since  they  kept  unbroken  silence, 
evidently  weighing  the  gist  of  the  letter  with  care,  he  said : 
"Tarasovski,  Moravski,  Groholski,  and  Aleksandrovich  are 
all  former  Tartar  captains,  and  traitors." 

"  So  are  Poturzynski,  Tvorovski,  and  Adurovich,"  added 
Pan  Snitko.  "  Gentlemen,  what  do  you  say  of  this  letter  ?  " 


PAN  MICHAEL.  195 

"  Open  treason !  there  is  nothing  here  upon  which  to 
deliberate,"  said  Pan  Mushalski.  "  He  is  simply  conspiring 
with  Mellehovich  to  take  onr  Tartars  over  to  their  side." 

"  For  God's  sake  !  what  a  danger  to  our  command ! "  cried 
a  number  of  voices.  "Our  Tartars  too  would  give  their 
souls  for  Mellehovich ;  and  if  he  orders  them,  they  will 
attack  us  in  the  night." 

"  The  blackest  treason  under  the  sun  ! "  cried  Pan  Deyma. 

"And  the  hetinan  himself  made  that  Mellehovich  a 
captain ! "  said  Pan  Mushalski. 

"Pan  Snitko,"  said  Zagloba,  "what  did  I  say  when  I 
looked  at  Mellehovich  ?  Did  I  not  tell  you  that  a  renegade 
and  a  traitor  were  looking  with  the  eyes  of  that  man  ? 
Ha !  it  was  enough  for  me  to  glance  at  him.  He  might 
deceive  all  others,  but  not  me.  Repeat  my  words,  Pan 
Snitko,  but  do  not  change  them.  Did  I  not  say  that  he  was 
a  traitor  ?  " 

Pan  Snitko  thrust  his  feet  back  under  the  bench  and  bent 
his  head  forward,  "  In  truth,  the  penetration  of  your  grace 
js  to  be  wondered  at ;  but  what  is  true,  is  true.  I  do  not  re- 
member that  your  grace  called  him  a  traitor.  Your  grace 
said  only  that  he  looked  out  of  his  eyes  like  a  wolf." 

"  Ha !  then  you  maintain  that  a  dog  is  a  traitor,  and  a 
wolf  is  not  a  traitor ;  that  a  wolf  does  not  bite  the  hand 
which  fondles  him  and  gives  him  to  eat  ?  Then  a  dog  is 
a  traitor  ?  Perhaps  you  will  defend  Mellehovich  yet,  and 
make  traitors  of  all  the  rest  of  us  ?  " 

Confused  in  this  manner,  Pan  Snitko  opened  his  eyes  and 
mouth  widely,  and  was  so  astonished  that  he  could  not 
utter  a  word  for  some  time. 

Meanwhile  Pan  Mushalski,  who  formed  opinions  quickly, 
said  at  once,  "  First  of  all,  we  should  thank  the  Lord  God 
for  discovering  such  infamous  intrigues,  and  then  send  six 
dragoons  with  Mellehovich  to  put  a  bullet  in  his  head." 

"And  appoint  another  captain,"  added  Nyenashinyets. 
"  The  reason  is  so  evident  that  there  can  be  no  mistake." 

To  which  Pan  Michael  added :  "  First,  it  is  necessary  to 
examine  Mellehovich,  and  then  to  inform  the  hetman  of 
these  intrigues,  for  as  Pan  Bogush  from  Zyembitse  told  me, 
the  Lithuanian  Tartars  are  very  dear  to  the  marshal  of  the 
kingdom." 

"  But,  your  grace,"  said  Pan  Motovidlo,  "  a  general 
inquiry  will  be  a  favor  to  Mellehovich,  since  he  has  never 
before  been  an  officer." 


196  PAN  MICHAEL. 

"  I  know  my  authority,"  said  Volodyovski,  "  and  you 
need  not  remind  me  of  it." 

Then  the  others  began  to  exclaim,  "  Let  such  a  son  stand 
before  our  eyes,  that  traitor,  that  betrayer  !  " 

The  loud  calls  roused  Zagloba,  who  had  been  dozing 
somewhat ;  this  happened  to  him  now  continually.  He  re- 
called quickly  the  subject  of  the  conversation  and  said: 
"  No,  Pan  Snitko ;  the  moon  is  hidden  in  your  escutcheon, 
but  your  wit  is  hidden  still  better,  for  no  one  could  find  it 
with  a  candle.  To  say  that  a  dog,  a  faithful  dog,  is  a 
traitor,  and  a  wolf  is  not  a  traitor !  Permit  me,  you  have 
used  up  your  wit  altogether." 

Pan  Snitko  raised  his  eyes  to  heaven  to  show  how  he  was 
suffering  innocently,  but  he  did  not  wish  to  offend  the  old 
man  by  contradiction ;  besides,  Volodyovski  commanded 
him  to  go  for  Mellehovich ;  he  went  out,  therefore,  in  haste, 
glad  to  escape  in  that  way.  He  returned  soon,  conducting 
the  young  Tartar,  who  evidently  knew  nothing  yet  of  the 
seizure  of  Krychinski's  messenger.  His  dark  and  handsome 
face  had  become  very  pale,  but  he  was  in  health  and  did 
not  even  bind  his  head  with  a  kerchief ;  he  merely  covered 
it  with  a  Crimean  cap  of  red  velvet.  The  eyes  of  all  were 
as  intent  on  him  as  on  a  rainbow ;  he  inclined  to  the  little 
knight  rather  profoundly,  and  then  to  the  company  rather 
haughtily. 

"  Mellehovich  !  "  said  Volodyovski,  fixing  on  the  Tartar 
his  quick  glance,  "  do  you  know  Colonel  Krychinski  ?  " 

A  sudden  and  threatening  shadow  flew  over  the  face  of 
Mellehovich.  "  I  know  him  !  " 

"  Read,"  said  the  little  knight,  giving  him  the  letter  found 
on  the  messenger. 

Mellehovich  began  to  read ;  but  before  he  had  finished, 
calmness  returned  to  his  face.  "  I  await  your  order,"  said 
he,  returning  the  letter. 

"How  long  have  you  been  plotting  treason,  and  what 
confederates  have  you  ?  " 

"  Am  I  accused,  then,  of  treason  ?  " 

"Answer;  do  not  inquire,"  said  the  little  knight, 
threateningly. 

"  Then  I  will  give  this  answer :  I  have  plotted  no  trea* 
son  ;  I  have  no  confederates ;  or  if  I  have,  gentlemen,  they 
are  men  whom  you  will  not  judge." 

Hearing  this,  the  officers  gritted  their  teeth,  and 
straightway  a  number  of  threatening  voices  called,  "  More 


PAN   MICHAEL.  197 

submissively,  dog's  sou,  more  submissively!  You  are 
standing  before  your  betters ! " 

Thereupon  Mellehovich  surveyed  them  with  a  glance 
in  which  cold  hatred  was  glittering.  "  I  am  aware  of  what 
I  owe  to  the  commandant,  as  my  chief,"  said  he,  bowing 
a  second  time  to  Volodyovski.  "  I  know  that  I  am  held 
inferior  by  you,  gentlemen,  and  I  do  not  seek  your  society. 
Your  grace "  (here  he  turned  to  the  little  knight)  "  has 
asked  me  of  confederates ;  I  have  two  in  my  work :  one 
is  Pan  Bogush,  under-stolnik  of  Novgrod,  and  the  other  is 
the  grand  hetinan  of  the  kingdom." 

When  they  heard  these  words,  all  were  astonished  greatly, 
and  for  a  time  there  was  silence ;  at  last  Pan  Michael  in- 
quired, "  In  what  way  ?  " 

"In  this  way,"  answered  Mellehovich;  "Krychinski, 
Moravski,  Tvorovski,  Aleksandrovich,  and  all  the  others 
went  to  the  horde  and  have  done  much  harm  to  the  country ; 
but  they  did  not  find  fortune  in  their  new  service.  Perhaps 
too  their  consciences  are  moved  ;  it  is  enough  that  the  title 
of  traitor  is  bitter  to  them.  The  hetman  is  well  aware  of 
this,  and  has  commissioned  Pan  Bogush,  and  also  Pan 
Myslishevski,  to  bring  them  back  to  the  banner  of  the 
Commonwealth.  Pan  Bogush  has  employed  me  in  this  mis- 
sion, and  commanded  me  to  come  to  an  agreement  with 
Krychinski.  I  have  at  my  quarters  letters  from  Pan 
Bogush  which  your  grace  will  believe  more  quickly  than 
my  words." 

"  Go  with  Pan  Snitko  for  those  letters  and  bring  them  at 
once." 

Mellehovich  went  out. 

"  Gracious  gentlemen,"  said  the  little  knight,  quickly,  "we 
have  offended  this  soldier  greatly  through  over-hasty  judg- 
ment ;  for  if  he  has  those  letters,  he  tells  the  truth,  and  I 
begin  to  think  that  he  has  them.  Then  he  is  not  only  a 
cavalier  famous  through  military  exploits,  but  a  man  sensi- 
tive to  the  good  of  the  country,  and  reward,  not  unjust 
judgments,  should  meet  him  for  that.  As  God  lives !  this 
must  be  corrected  at  once." 

The  others  were  sunk  in  silence,  not  knowing  what  to 
say;  but  Zagloba  closed  his  eyes,  feigning  sleep  this 
time. 

Meanwhile  Mellehovich  returned  and  gave  the  little 
knight  Bogush's  letter.  Volodyovski  read  as  follows :  — 


198  PAN  MICHAEL. 

"  I  hear  from  all  sides  that  there  is  no  one  more  fitted  than  you 
for  such  a  service,  and  this  by  reason  of  the  wonderful  love  which 
those  men  bear  to  you.  The  hetman  is  ready  to  forgive  them,  and 
promises  forgiveness  from  the  Commonwealth.  Communicate  with 
Krychinski  as  frequently  as  possible  through  reliable  people,  and 
promise  him  a  reward.  Guard  the  secret  carefully,  for  if  not,  as 
God  lives,  you  would  destroy  them  all.  You  may  divulge  the  affair  to 
Pan  Volodyovski,  for  your  chief  can  aid  you  greatly.  Do  not  spare 
toil  and  effort,  seeing  that  the  end  crowns  the  work,  and  be  certain 
that  our  mother  will  reward  your  good-will  with  love  equal  to  it." 

"Behold  my  reward!"  muttered  the  young  Tartar, 
gloomily. 

"  By  the  dear  God  !  why  did  you  not-  mention  a  word  of 
this  to  any  one  ?  "  cried  Pan  Michael. 

"1  wished  to  tell  all  to  your  grace,  but  I  had  no  opportu- 
nity, for  I  was  ill  after  that  accident.  Before  their  graces  " 
(here  Mellehovich  turned  to  the  officers)  "I  had  a  secret 
which  I  was  prohibited  from  telling ;  this  prohibition  your 
grace  will  certainly  enjoin  on  them  now,  so  as  not  to  ruin 
those  other  men." 

"  The  proofs  of  your  virtue  are  so  evident  that  a  blind 
man  could  not  deny  them,"  said  the  little  knight.  "  Con- 
tinue the  affair  with  Krychinski.  You  will  have  no  hin- 
drance in  this,  but  aid,  in  proof  of  which  I  give  you  my 
hand  as  to  an  honorable  cavalier.  Come  to  sup  with  me 
this  evening." 

Mellehovich  pressed  the  hand  extended  to  him,  and  in- 
clined for  the  third  time.  From  the  corners  of  the  room 
other  officers  moved  toward  him,  saying,  "We  did  not  know 
you ;  but  whoso  loves  virtue  will  not  withdraw  his  hand 
from  you  to-day." 

But  the  young  Tartar  straightened  himself  suddenly, 
pushed  his  head  back  like  a  bird  of  prey  ready  to  strike, 
and  said,  "I  am  standing  before  my  betters."  Then  he 
went  out  of  the  room. 

It  was  noisy  after  his  exit.  "  It  is  not  to  be  wondered 
at,"  said  the  officers  among  themselves ;  "  his  heart  is  in- 
dignant yet  at  the  injustice,  but  that  will  pass.  We  must 
treat  him  differently.  He  has  real  knightly  mettle  in  him. 
The  hetman  knew  what  he  was  doing.  Miracles  are  hap- 
pening ;  well,  well ! " 

Pan  Snitko  was  triumphing  in  silence ;  at  last  he  could 
not  restrain  himself  and  said,  "  Permit  me,  your  grace,  but 
that  wolf  was  not  a  traitor." 


PAN  MICHAEL.  199 

"  Not  a  traitor  ?  "  retorted  Zagloba.  "  He  was  a  traitor, 
but  a  virtuous  one,  for  he  betrayed  not  us,  but  the  horde. 
Do  not  lose  hope,  Fan  Snitko ;  I  will  pray  to-day  for  your 
wit,  and  perhaps  the  Holy  Ghost  will  have  mercy." 

Basia  was  greatly  comforted  when  Zagloba  related  the 
whole  affair  to  her,  for  she  had  good-will  and  compassion 
for  Mellehovich.  "Michael  and  I  must  go,"  said  she,  "on 
the  first  dangerous  expedition  with  him,  for  in  this  way  we 
shall  show  our  confidence  most  thoroughly." 

But  the  little  knight  began  to  stroke  Basia's  rosy  face 
and  said,  "  0  suffering  fly,  I  know  you !  With  you  it  is  not 
a  question  of  Mellehovich,  but  you  would  like  to  buzz  off  to 
the  steppe  and  engage  in  a  battle.  Nothing  will  come  of 
that ! " 

"  Mulier  insidiosa  est  (woman  is  insidious)  !  "  said  Zagloba, 
with  gravity. 

At  this  time  Mellehovich  was  sitting  in  his  own  room 
with  the  Tartar  messenger  and  speaking  in  a  whisper.  The 
two  sat  so  near  each  other  that  they  were  almost  forehead 
to  forehead.  A  taper  of  mutton-tallow  was  burning  on  the 
table,  casting  yellow  light  on  the  face  of  Mellehovich,  which, 
in  spite  of  its  beauty,  was  simply  terrible ;  there  were 
depicted  on  it  hatred,  cruelty,  and  a  savage  delight. 

"  Halim,  listen  !  "  whispered  Mellehovich. 

"Effendi,"  answered  the  messenger. 

"Tell  Krychinski  that  he  is  wise* for  in  the  letter  there 
was  nothing  that  could  harm  me ;  tell  him  that  he  is  wise. 
Let  him  never  write  more  clearly.  They  will  trust  me  now 
still  more,  all  of  them,  the  hetman  himself,  Bogush,  Mysli- 
shevski,  the  command  here,  —  all !  Do  you  hear  ?  May  the 
plague  stifle  them  ! " 

"  I  hear,  Effendi." 

"  But  I  must  be  in  Rashkoff  first,  and  then  I  will  return 
to  this  place." 

"  Effendi,  young  Novoveski  will  recognize  you." 

"  He  will  not.  He  saw  me  at  Kaluik,  at  Bratslav,  and 
did  not  know  me.  He  will  look  at  me,  wrinkle  his  brows, 
but  will  not  recognize  me.  He  was  fifteen  years  old  when 
I  ran  away  from  the  house.  Eight  times  has  winter 
covered  the  steppes  since  that  hour.  I  have  changed.  The 
old  man  would  know  me,  but  the  young  one  will  not  know 
me.  I  will  notify  you  from  Rashkoff.  Let  Krychinski 
be  ready,  and  hold  himself  in  the  neighborhood.  You  must 
have  an  understanding  with  the  perkulabs.  In  Yampol, 


200  PAN  MICHAEL. 

also,  is  our  squadron.  I  will  persuade  Bogush  to  get  an 
order  from  the  hetman  for  me,  that  it  will  be  easier  for  me 
to  act  on  Krychinski  from  that  place.  But  I  must  return 
hither,  —  I  must !  I  do  not  know  what  will  happen,  how 
I  shall  manage.  Fire  burns  me ;  in  the  night  sleep  flies 
from  me.  Had  it  not  been  for  her,  I  should  have  died." 

Mellehovich's  lips  began  to  quiver;  and  bending  still 
again  to  the  messenger,  he  whispered,  as  if  in  a  fever, 
"  Halim,  blessed  be  her  hands,  blessed  her  head,  blessed  the 
earth  on  which  she  walks !  Do  you  hear,  Halim  ?  Tell 
them  there  that  through  her  I  am  well." 


PAN  MICHAEL.  201 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

FATHER  KAMINSKI  had  been  a  soldier  in  his  youthful 
years  and  a  cavalier  of  great  courage ;  he  was  now  stationed 
at  Ushytsa  and  was  reorganizing  a  parish.  But  as  the 
church  was  in  ruins,  and  parishioners  were  lacking,  this 
pastor  without  a  flock  visited  Hreptyoff,  and  remained 
there  whole  weeks,  edifying  the  knights  with  pious 
instruction.  He  listened  with  attention  to  the  narrative 
of  Pan  Mushalski,  and  spoke  to  the  assembly  a  few 
evenings  later  as  follows  :  — 

"I  have  always  loved  to  hear  narratives  in  which  sad 
adventures  find  a  happy  ending,  for  from  them  it  is  evident 
that  whomever  God's  hand  guides,  it  can  free  from  the  toils 
of  the  pursuer  and  lead  even  from  the  Crimea  to  a  peaceful 
roof.  Therefore  let  each  one  of  you  fix  this  in  his  mind : 
For  the  Lord  there  is  nothing  impossible,  and  let  no  one  of 
you  even  in  direst  necessitj7  lose  trust  in  God's  mercy. 
This  is  the  truth  ! 

"  It  was  praiseworthy  in  Pan  Mushalski  to  love  a  common 
man  with  brotherly  affection.  The  Saviour  Himself  gave 
us  an  example  when  He,  though  of  royal  blood,  loved 
common  people  and  made  many  of  them  apostles  and  helped 
them  to  promotion,  so  that  now  they  have  seats  in  the 
heavenly  senate. 

"  But  personal  love  is  one  thing,  and  general  love  —  that 
of  one  nation  to  another  —  is  something  different.  The  love 
which  is  general,  our  Lord,  the  Redeemer,  observed  no  less 
earnestly  than  the  other.  And  where  do  we  find  this  love  ? 
When,  0  man,  you  look  through  the  world,  there  is  such 
hatred  in  hearts  everywhere,  as  if  people  were  obeying  the 
commands  of  the  Devil  and  not  of  the  Lord." 

"  It  will  be  hard,  your  grace,"  said  Zagloba,  "  to  persuade 
us  to  love  Turks,  Tartars,  or  other  barbarians  whom  the 
Lord  God  Himself  must  despise  thoroughly." 

"  I  am  not  persuading  you  to  that,  but  I  maintain  this : 
that  children  of  the  same  mother  should  have  love  for  one 
another ;  but  what  do  we  see  ?  From  the  days  of  Hinelnit- 
ski,  or  for  thirty  years,  no  part  of  these  regions  is  dried 
from  blood." 


202  PAN  MICHAEL. 

"  But  whose  fault  is  it  ?  " 

"  Wlioso  wiU  confess  his  fault  first,  him  will  God  pardon." 

"  Your  grace  is  wearing  the  robes  of  a  priest  to-day  ;  but 
in  youth  you  slew  rebels,  as  we  have  heard,  not  at  all  worse 
than  others." 

"  I  slew  them,  for  it  was  my  duty  as  a  soldier  to  do  so ; 
that  was  not  my  sin,  but  this,  that  I  hated  them  as  a 
pestilence.  I  had  private  reasons  which  I  will  not  men- 
tion, for  those  are  old  times  and  the  wounds  are  healed  now. 
I  repent  that  I  acted  beyond  rny  duty.  I  had  under  my 
command  one  hundred  men  from  the  squadron  of  Pan  Nye- 
vodovski ;  and  going  often  independently  with  my  men,  I 
burned,  slaughtered,  and  hanged.  You.  gentlemen,  know 
what  times  those  were.  The  Tartars,  called  in  by  Hmelnit- 
ski,  burned  and  slew ;  we  burned  and  slew  ;  the  Cossacks 
left  only  land  and  water  behind  them  in  all  places,  commit- 
ting atrocities  worse  than  ours  and  the  Tartars.  There  is 
nothing  more  terrible  than  civil  war  !  What  times  those 
were  no  man  will  ever  describe  ;  enough  that  we  and  they 
fought  more  like  mad  dogs  than  men. 

"  Once  news  was  sent  to  our  command  that  ruffians  had 
besieged  Pan  Rushitski  in  his  fortalice.  I  was  sent  with 
my  troops  to  the  rescue.  I  came  too  late  ;  the  place  was 
level  with  the  ground.  But  I  fell  upon  the  drunken 
peasants  and  cut  them  down  notably ;  only  a  part  hid  in 
the  grain.  I  gave  command  to  take  these  alive,  to  hang  them 
for  an  example.  But  where  ?  It  was  easier  to  plan  than  to 
execute  ;  in  the  whole  village  there  was  not  one  tree  remain- 
ing ;  even  the  pear-trees  standing  on  the  boundaries  between 
fields  were  cut  down.  I  had  no  time  to  make  gibbets ;  a 
forest  too,  as  that  was  a  steppe-land,  was  nowhere  in  view. 
What  could  I  do  ?  I  took  my  prisoners  and  marched  on. 
'  I  shall  find  a  forked  oak  somewhere,'  thought  I.  I  went  a 
mile,  two  miles,  —  steppe  and  steppe ;  you  might  roll  a  ball 
over  it.  At  last  we  found  traces  of  a  village ;  that  was 
toward  evening.  I  gazed  around;  here  and  there  a  pile  of 
coals,  and  besides  gray  ashes,  nothing  more.  On  a  small 
hillside  there  was  a  cross,  a  firm  oak  one,  evidently  not  long 
made,  for  the  wood  was  not  dark  yet  and  glittered  in  the 
twilight  as  if  it  were  afire.  Christ  was  on  it,  cut  out  of  tin 
plate  and  painted  in  such  a  way  that  only  when  you  came 
from  one  side  and  saw  the  thinness  of  the  plate  could  you 
know  that  not  a  real  statue  was  hanging  there ;  but  in  front 
the  face  was  as  if  living,  somewhat  pale  from  pain  ;  on  the 


PAN  MICHAEL.  203 

head  a  crown  of  thorns ;  the  eyes  were  turned  upward  with 
wonderful  sadness  and  pity.  When  I  saw  that  cross,  the 
thought  flashed  into  my  mind,  *  There  is  a  tree  for  you ;  there 
is  no  other,'  but  straightway  I  was  afraid.  In  the  name  of 
the  Father  and  the  Son  !  I  will  not  hang  them  on  the  cross. 
But  I  thought  that  I  should  comfort  the  eyes  of  Christ  if 
I  gave  command  in  His  presence  to  kill  those  who  had 
spilled  so  much  innocent  blood,  and  I  spoke  thus  :  '  0  dear 
Lord,  let  it  seem  to  Thee  that  these  men  are  those  Jews  who 
nailed  Thee  to  the  cross,  for  these  are  not  better  than 
those.'  Then  I  commanded  my  men  to  drag  the  prisoners 
one  by  one  to  the  mound  under  the  cross.  There  were 
among  them  old  men,  gray-haired  peasants,  and  youths. 
The  first  whom  they  brought  said,  '  By  the  Passion  of  the 
Lord,  by  that  Christ,  have  mercy  on  me  ! '  And  I  said  in 
answer,  '  Off  with  his  head  ! '  A  dragoon  slashed  and  cut 
off  his  head.  They  brought  another ;  the  same  thing  hap- 
pened :  '  By  that  Merciful  Christ,  have  pity  on  me  ! '  And 
I  said  again,  '  Off  with  his  head  ! '  the  same  with  the  third, 
the  fourth,  the  fifth  ;  there  were  fourteen  of  them,  and  each 
implored  me  by  Christ.  Twilight  was  ended  when  we 
finished.  I  gave  command  to  place  them  in  a  circle  around 
the  foot  of  the  cross.  Fool !  I  thought  to  delight  the 
Only  Son  with  this  spectacle.  They  quivered  awhile  yet, 
—  one  with  his  hands,  another  with  his  feet,  again  one 
floundered  like  a  fish  pulled  out  of  water,  but  that  was 
short ;  strength  soon  left  their  bodies,  and  they  lay  quiet 
in  a  circle. 

"Since  complete  darkness  had  come,  I  determined  to  stay 
in  that  spot  for  the  night,  though  there  was  nothing  to  make 
a  fire.  God  gave  a  warm  night,  and  my  men  lay  down 
on  horse-blankets ;  but  I  went  again  under  the  cross  to 
repeat  the  usual  'Our  Father'  at  the  feet  of  Christ  and 
commit  myself  to  His  mercy.  I  thought  that  my  prayer 
would  be  the  more  thankfully  accepted,  because  the  day  had 
passed  in  toil  and  in  deeds  of  a  kind  that  I  accounted  to 
myself  as  a  service. 

"  It  happens  frequently  to  a  wearied  soldier  to  fall  asleep 
at  his  evening  prayers.  It  happened  so  to  me.  The  dra- 
goons, seeing  how  I  was  kneeling  with  head  resting  on  the 
cross,  understood  that  I  was  sunk  in  pious,  meditation,  and 
no  one  wished  to  interrupt  me ;  my  eyes  closed  at  once,  and 
a  wonderful  dream  came  down  to  me  from  that  cross.  I  do 
not  say  that  I  had  a  vision,  for  I  was  not  and  am  not  worthy 


204  PAN  MICHAEL. 

of  that ;  but  sleeping  soundly,  I  saw  as  if  I  had  been  awake 
the  whole  Passion  of  the  Lord.  At  sight  of  the  suffering  of 
the  Innocent  Lamb  the  heart  was  crushed  in  me.  tears 
dropped  from  my  eyes,  and  measureless  pity  took  hold  of 
me.  '  0  Lord,'  said  I, '  I  have  a  handful  of  good  men.  Dost 
Thou  wish  to  see  what  our  cavalry  can  do  ?  Only  beckon 
with  Thy  head,  and  I  will  bear  apart  on  sabres  in  one 
twinkle  those  such  sons,  Thy  executioners.'  I  had  barely 
said  this  when  all  vanished  from  the  eye  ;  there  remained 
only  the  cross,  and  on  it  Christ,  weeping  tears  of  blood.  I 
embraced  the  foot  of  the  holy  tree  then,  and  sobbed.  How  long 
this  lasted,  I  know  not ;  but  afterward,  when  I  had  grown 
calm  somewhat,  I  said  again,  '  0  Lord,  0  Lord  !  why  didst 
Thou  announce  Thy  holy  teaching  among  hardened  Jews  ? 
Hadst  Thou  come  from  Palestine  to  our  Commonwealth, 
surely  we  should  not  have  nailed  Thee  to  the  cross,  but 
would  have  received  Thee  splendidly,  given  Thee  all  manner 
of  gifts,  and  made  Thee  a  noble  for  the  greater  increase  of 
Thy  divine  glory.  Why  didst  Thou  not  do  this,  0  Lord  ? ' 
"  I  raise  my  eyes,  —  this  was  all  in  a  dream,  you  remem- 
ber, gentlemen,  —  and  what  do  I  see  ?  Behold,  our  Lord 
looks  on  me  severely ;  He  frowns,  and  suddenly  speaks  in  a 
loud  voice :  '  Cheap  is  your  nobility  at  this  time ;  during  war 
every  low  fellow  may  buy  it,  but  no  more  of  this  !  You  are 
worthy  of  each  other,  both  you  and  the  ruffians  ;  and  each 
and  the  other  of  you  are  worse  than  the  Jews,  for  you  nail 
me  here  to  the  cross  every  day.  Have  I  not  enjoined  love, 
even  for  enemies,  and  forgiveness  of  sins  ?  But  you  tear  each 
other's  entrails  like  mad  beasts.  Wherefore  I,  seeing  this, 
suffer  unendurable  torment.  You  yourself,  who  wish  to 
rescue  me,  and  invite  me  to  the  Commonwealth,  what  have 
you  done  ?  See,  corpses  are  lying  here  around  my  cross, 
and  you  have  bespattered  the  foot  of  it  with  blood ;  and 
still  there  were  among  them  innocent  persons,  —  young  boys, 
or  blinded  men,  who,  having  care  from  no  one,  followed 
others  like  foolish  sheep.  Had  you  mercy  on  them;  did 
you  judge  them  before  death  ?  No !  You  gave  command 
to  slay  them  all  for  my  sake,  and  still  thought  that  you 
were  giving  comfort  to  me.  In  truth,  it  is  one  thing  to 
punish  and  reprove  as  a  father  punishes  a  son,  or  as  an 
elder  brother  reproves  a  younger  brother,  and  another  to 
seek  revenge  without  judgment,  without  measure,  in  punish- 
ing and  without  recognizing  cruelty.  It  has  gone  so  far 
in  this  land  that  wolves  are  more  merciful  than  men ;  that 


PAN  MICHAEL.  205 

the  grass  is  sweating  bloody  dew ;  that  the  winds  do  not 
blow,  but  howl ;  that  the  rivers  flow  in  tears,  and  people 
stretch  forth  their  hands  to  death,  saying,  "Oh,  our  refuge ! " 

" '  0  Lord,'  cried  I,  *  are  they  better  than  we  ?  Who  has 
committed  the  greatest  cruelty  ?  Who  brought  in  the 
Pagan?' 

" '  Love  them  while  chastising,'  said  the  Lord,  '  and  then 
the  beam  will  fall  from  their  eyes,  hardness  will  leave  their 
hearts,  and  my  mercy  will  be  upon  you.  Otherwise  the  on- 
rush of  Tartars  will  come,  and  they  will  lay  bonds  upon  you 
and  upon  them,  and  you  will  be  forced  to  serve  the  enemy 
in  suffering,  in  contempt,  in  tears,  till  the  day  in  which  you 
Jove  one  another.  But  if  you  exceed  the  measure  in  hatred, 
then  there  will  not  be  mercy  for  one  or  the  other,  and  the 
Pagan  will  possess  this  land  for  the  ages  of  ages.' 

" "  I  grew  terrified  hearing  such  commands,  and  long  I  was 
unable  to  speak  till,  throwing  myself  on  my  face,  I  asked, 
'  0  Lord,  what  have  I  to  do  to  wash  away  my  sins  ?'  To  this 
the  Lord  said, '  Go,  repeat  my  words ;  proclaim  love.'  After 
that  my  dream  ended. 

"  As  night  in  summer  is  short,  I  woke  up  about  dawn, 
all  covered  with  dew.  I  looked ;  the  heads  were  lying  in  a 
circle  about  the  cross,  but  already  they  were  blue.  A  won- 
derful thing,  —  yesterday  that  sight  delighted  me ;  to-day 
terror  took  hold  of  me,  especially  at  sight  of  one  youth, 
perhaps  seventeen  years  of  age,  who  was  exceedingly  beau- 
tiful. I  ordered  the  soldiers  to  bury  the  bodies  decently 
under  that  cross ;  from  that  day  forth  I  was  not  the  same 
man. 

"  At  first  I  thought  to  myself,  the  dream  is  an  illusion  ; 
but  still  it  was  thrust  into  my  memory,  and,  as  it  were,  took 
possession  of  my  whole  existence.  I  did  not  dare  to  suppose 
that  the  Lord  Himself  talked  with  me,  for,  as  I  have  said, 
I  did  not  feel  myself  worthy  of  that ;  but  it  might  be  that 
conscience,  hidden  in  my  soul  in  time  of  war,  like  a  Tartar 
in  the  grass,  spoke  up  suddenly,  announcing  God's  will.  I 
went  to  confession  ;  the  priest  confirmed  that  supposition. 
'  It  is,'  said  he,  '  the  evident  will  and  forewarning  of  God ; 
obey,  or  it  will  be  ill  with  thee.' 

"  Thenceforth  I  began  to  proclaim  love.  But  the  officers 
laughed  at  me  to  my  eyes.  '  What ! '  said  they,  '  is  this  a 
priest  to  give  us  instruction  ?  Is  it  little  insult  that  these 
dog  brothers  have  worked  upon  God?  Are  the  churches 
that  they  have  burned  few  in  number ;  are  the  crosses  that 


206  PAN   MICHAEL. 

they  have  insulted  not  many  ?  Are  we  to  love  them  foi 
this  ? '  In  one  word,  no  one  would  listen  to  me.  . 

"  After  Be.restechko  I  put  on  these  priestly  robes  so  as  to 
announce  with  greater  weight  the  word  and  the  will  of  God. 
For  more  than  twenty  years  I  have  done  this  without  rest. 
God  is  merciful;  He  will  not  punish  me,  because  thus  far 
my  voice  is  a  voice  crying  in  the  wilderness. 

"  Gracious  gentlemen,  love  your  enemies,  punish  them  as 
a  father,  reprimand  them  as  an  elder  brother,  otherwise  woe 
to  them,  but  woe  to  you  also,  woe  to  the  whole  Common- 
wealth ! 

"  Look  around ;  what  is  the  result  of  this  war  and  the 
animosity  of  brother  against  brother  ?  This  land  has 
become  a  desert;  I  have  graves  in  Ushytsa  instead  of 
parishioners ;  churches,  towns,  and  villages  are  in  ruins ; 
the  Pagan  power  is  rising  and  growing  over  us  like  a 
sea,  which  is  ready  to  swallow  even  thee,  0  rock  of 
Kamenyets." 

Pan  Nyenashinyets  listened  with  great  emotion  to  the 
speech  of  the  priest,  so  that  the  sweat  came  out  on  his 
forehead  ;  then  he  spoke  thus,  amid  general  silence :  — 

"  That  among  Cossacks  there  are  worthy  cavaliers,  a 
proof  is  here  present  in  Pan  Motovidlo,  whom  we  all  love 
and  respect.  But  when  it  comes  to  the  general  love,  of 
which  Father  Kaminski  has  spoken  so  eloquently,  I  confess 
that  I  have  lived  in  grievous  sin  hitherto,  for  that  love 
was  not  in  me,  and  I  have  not  striven  to  gain  it.  Now 
his  grace  has  opened  my  eyes  somewhat.  Without  special 
favor  from  God  I  shall  not  find  such  love  in  my  heart, 
because  I  bear  there  the  memory  of  a  cruel  injustice,  which 
I  will  relate  to  you  briefly." 

"  Let  us  drink  something  warm,"  said  Zagloba. 

"  Throw  horn-beam  on  the  fire,"  said  *Basia  to  the 
attendants. 

And  soon  after  the  broad  room  was  bright  again  with 
light,  arid  before  each  of  the  knights  an  attendant  placed  a 
quart  of  heated  beer.  All  moistened  their  mustaches  in  it 
willingly;  and  when  they  had  taken  one  and  a  second 
draught,  Pan  Nyenashinyets  collected  his  voice  again,  and 
spoke  as  if  a  wagon  were  rumbling,  — 

"My  mother  when  dying  committed  to  my  care  a  sister; 
Halshka  was  her  name.  .  I  had  no  wife  nor  children,  there- 
fore I  loved  that  girl  as  the  apple  of  my  eye.  She  was 
twenty  years  younger  than  I,  and  I  had  carried  her  in  my 


PAN  MICHAEL.  207 

arms  I  looked  on  her  simply  as  my  own  child.  Later  I 
went  on  a  campaign,  and  the  horde  took  her  captive.  When 
I  came  home  I  beat  my  head  against  the  wall.  My 
property  had  vanished  in  time  of  the  invasion;  but  I  sold 
what  I  had,  put  my  last  saddle  on  a  horse,  and  wont  with 
Armenians  to  ransom  my  sister.  I  found  her  in  Bagche- 
sarai.  She  was  attached  to  the  harem,  not  in  the  harem, 
for  she  was  only  twelve  years  of  age  then.  I  shall  never 
forget  the  hour  when  I  found  thee,  0  Halshka.  How 
thou  didst  embrace  my  neck!  how  thou  didst  kiss  me 
in  the  eyes !  But  what !  It  turned  out  that  the  money 
I  had  brought  was  too  little.  The  girl  was  beautiful. 
Yehu  Aga,  who  carried  her  away,  asked  three  times  as 
much  for  her.  I  offered  to  give  myself  in  addition,  but 
that  did  not  help.  She  was  bought  in  the  market  before 
my  eyes  by  Tugai  Bey,  that  famous  enemy  of  ours,  who 
wished  to  keep  her  three  years  in  his  harem  and  then 
make  her  his  wife.  I  returned,  tearing  my  hair.  On  the 
road  home  I  discovered  that  in  a  Tartar  village  by  the  sea 
one  of  Tugai  Bey's  wives  was  dwelling  with  his  favorite 
son  Azya.  Tugai  Bey  had  wives  in  all  the  towns  and  in 
many  villages,  so  as  to  have  everywhere  a  resting-place 
under  his  own  roof.  Hearing  of  this  son,  I  thought  that 
God  would  show  me  the  last  means  of  salvation  for 
Halshka.  At  once  I  determined  to  bear  away  that  son, 
and  then  exchange  him  for  my  sister  j  but  I  could  not  do 
this  alone.  It  was  necessary  to  assemble  a  band  in  the 
Ukraine,  or  the  Wilderness,  which  was  not  easy,  —  first, 
because  the  name  of  Tugai  Bey  was  terrible  in  all  Russia, 
and  secondly,  he  was  helping  the  Cossacks  against  us.  But 
not  a  few  heroes  were  wandering  through  the  steppes,  — 
men  looking  to  their  own  profit  only  and  ready  to  go  any- 
where for  plunder.  I  collected  a  notable  party  of  those. 
What  we  passed  through  before  our  boats  came  out  on  the 
sea  tongue  cannot  tell,  for  we  had  to  hide  before  the 
Cossack  commanders.  But  God  blessed  us.  I  stole  Azya, 
and  with  him  splendid  booty.  We  returned  to  the  Wilder- 
ness in  safety.  I  wished  to  go  thence  to  Kamenyets  and 
commence  negotiations  with  merchants  of  that  place. 

"I  divided  all  the  booty  among  my  heroes,  reserving 
for  myself  Tu^ai  I'x-y's  whelp  alone  ;  and  since  I  had  acted 
with  such  liberality,  since  I  had  suffered  so  many  dangers 
with  those  men,  had  endured  hunger  with  them,  and 
risked  my  life  for  them,  I  thought  that  each  one  would 


208  PAN  MICHAEL. 

spring  into  the  fire  for  me,  that  I  had  won  their  hearts  for 
the  ages. 

"  I  had  reason  to  repent  of  that  bitterly  and  soon.  It 
had  not  come  to  my  head  that  they  tear  their  own  ataman 
to  pieces,  to  divide  his  plunder  between  themselves  after- 
ward ;  I  forgot  that  among  them  there  are  no  men  of  faith, 
virtue,  gratitude,  or  conscience.  Near  Kamenyets  the  hope 
of  a  rich  ransom  for  Azya  tempted  my  followers.  They  fell 
on  me  in  the  night-time  like  wolves,  throttled  me  with  a 
rope,  cut  my  body  with  knives,  and  at  last,  thinking  me 
dead,  threw  me  aside  in  the  desert  and  fled  with  the  boy. 

"  God  sent  me  rescue  and  gave  back  my  health  ;  but  my 
Halshka  is  gone  forever.  Maybe  she  is  living  there  yet 
somewhere ;  maybe  after  the  death  of  Tugai  Bey  another 
Pagan  took  her;  maybe  she  has  received  the  faith  of 
Mohammed;  maybe  she  has  forgotten  her  brother;  maybe 
her  son  will  shed  my  blood  sometime.  That  is  my 
history." 

Here  Pan  Nyenashinyets  stopped  speaking  and  looked  on 
the  ground  gloomily. 

"  What  streams  of  our  blood  and  tears  have  flowed  for 
these  regions  !  "  said  Pan  Mushalski. 

"Thou  shalt  love  thine  enemies,"  put  in  Father 
Kaminski. 

"  And  when  you  came  to  health  did  you  not  look  for  that 
whelp  ?  "  asked  Zagloba. 

"As  I  learned  afterward,"  answered  Pan  Nyenashinyets, 
"  another  band  fell  on  my  robbers  and  cut  them  to  pieces  ; 
they  must  have  taken  the  child  with  the  booty.  I  searched 
everywhere,  but  he  vanished  as  a  stone  dropped  into 
water." 

"  Maybe  you  met  him  afterward,  but  could  not  recognize 
him,"  said  Basia. 

"I  do  not  know  whether  the  child  was  as  old  as  three 
years.  I  barely  learned  that  his  name  was  Azya.  But  I 
should  have  recognized  him,  for  he  had  tattooed  over  each 
breast  a  fish  in  blue." 

All  at  once  Mellehovich,  who  had  sat  in  silence  hitherto, 
spoke  with  a  strange  voice  from  the  corner  of  the  room, 
"You  would  not  have  known  him  by  the  fish,  for  many 
Tartars  bear  the  same  sign,  especially  those  who  live  near 
the  water." 

"  Not  true,"  answered  the  hoary  Pan  Hromyka  ;  "  after 
Berestechko  we  examined  the  carrion  of  Tugai  Bey,  —  for 


PAN   MICHAEL.  209 

it  remained  on  the  field ;  and  I  know  that  he  had  fish  on 
his  breast,  and  all  the  other  slain  Tartars  had  different 
marks." 

"But  I  tell  you  that  many  wear  fish." 

"  True ;  but  they  are  of  the  devilish  Tugai  Bey  stock." 

Further  conversation  was  stopped  by  the  entrance  of  Pan 
Lelchyts,  whom  Pan  Michael  had  sent  on  a  reconno'issance 
that  morning,  and  who  had  returned  just  then. 

"Pan  Commandant,"  said  he  in  the  door,  "at  Sirotski 
Brod,  on  the  Moldavian  side,  there  is  some  sort  of  band 
moving  toward  us." 

"  What  kind  of  people  are  they  ?  "  asked  Pan  Michael. 

"  Robbers.  There  are  a  few  Wallachians,  a  few  Hunga- 
rians ;  most  of  them  are  men  detached  from  the  horde, 
altogether  about  two  hundred  in  number." 

"  Those  are  the  same  of  whom  I  have  tidings  that  they 
are  plundering  on  the  Moldavian  side,"  said  Volodyovski. 
"  The  perkulab  must  have  made  it  hot  for  them  there,  hence 
they  are  escaping  toward  us  ;  but  of  the  horde  alone  there 
will  be  about  two  hundred.  They  will  cross  in  the  night, 
and  at  daylight  we  shall  intercept  them.  Pan  Motovidlo 
and  Mellehovich  will  be  ready  at  midnight.  Drive  forward 
a  small  herd  of  bullocks  to  entice  them,  and  now  to  your 
quarters." 

The  soldiers  began  to  separate,  but  not  all  had  left  the 
room  yet  when  Basia  ran  up  to  her  husband,  threw  her  arms 
around  his  neck,  and  began  to  whisper  in  his  ear.  He 
laughed,  and  shook  his  head  repeatedly ;  evidently  she  was 
insisting,  while  pressing  her  arms  around  his  neck  with 
more  vigor.  Seeing  this,  Zagloba  said,  — 

"  Give  her  this  pleasure  once ;  if  you  do,  I,  old  man,  will 
clatter  on  with  you." 

14 


210  PAN  MICHAEL. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

INDEPENDENT  detachments,  occupied  in  robbery  on  both 
banks  of  the  Dniester,  were  made  up  of  men  of  all  nation- 
alities inhabiting  the  neighboring  countries.  Runaway 
Tartars  from  the  Dobrudja  and  Belgrod  hordes,  wilder 
still  and  braver  than  their  Crimean  brethren,  always 
preponderated  in  them ;  but  there  were  not  lacking 
either  Wallachians,  Cossacks,  Hungarians,  Polish  domestics 
escaped  from  stanitsas  on  the  banks  of  the  Dniester.  They 
ravaged  now  on  the  Polish,  now  on  the  Moldavian  side, 
crossing  and  recrossing  the  boundary  river,  as  they  were 
hunted  by  the  perkulab's  forces  or  by  the  commandants  of 
the  Commonwealth.  They  had  their  almost  inaccessible 
hiding-places  in  ravines,  forests,  and  caves.  The  main 
object  of  their  attacks  was  the  herds  of  cattle  and  horses 
belonging  to  the  stanitsas ;  these  herds  did  not  leave  the 
steppes  even  in  winter,  seeking  sustenance  for  themselves 
under  the  snow.  But,  besides,  the  robbers  attacked  villages, 
hamlets,  settlements,  smaller  commands,  Polish  and  even 
Turkish  merchants,  intermediaries  going  with  ransom  to 
the  Crimea.  These  bands  had  their  own  order  and  their 
leaders,  but  they  joined  forces  rarely.  It  happened  often 
even  that  larger  bands  cut  down  smaller  ones.  They  had 
increased  greatly  everywhere  in  the  Russian  regions, 
especially  since  the  time  of  the  Cossack  wars,  when 
safety  of  every  kind  vanished  in  -those  parts.  The  bands 
on  the  Dniester,  reinforced  by  fugitives  from  the  horde, 
were  peculiarly  terrible.  Some  appeared  numbering  five 
hundred.  Their  leaders  took  the  title  of  "bey."  They 
ravaged  the  country  in  a  manner  thoroughly  Tartar,  and 
more  than  once  the  commandants  themselves  did  not  know 
whether  they  had  to  do  with  bandits  or  with  advance 
chambuls  of  the  whole  horde.  Against  mounted  troops, 
especially  the  cavalry  of  the  Commonwealth,  these  bands 
could  not  stand  in  the  open  field;  but,  caught  in  a  trap, 
they  fought  desperately,  knowing  well  that  if  taken  captive 
the  halter  was  waiting  for  them.  Their  arms  were  various. 
Bows  and  guns  were  lacking  them,  which,  however,  were  of 
little  use  in  night  attacks.  The  greater  part  were  armed 


PAN  MICHAEL  211 

with  daggers  and  Turkish  yataghans,  sling-shots,  Tartar 
sabres,  and  with  horse-skulls  fastened  to  oak  clubs  with 
cords.  This  last  weapon,  in  strong  hands,  did  terrible 
service,  for  it  smashed  every  sabre.  Some  had  very  long 
forks  pointed  with  iron,  some  spears;  these  in  sudden 
emergencies  they  used  against  cavalry. 

The  band  which  had  halted  at  Sirotski  Brod  must  have 
been  numerous  or  must  have  been  in  extreme  peril  on 
the  Moldavian  side,  since  it  had  ventured  to  approach  the 
command  at  Hreptyoff,  in  spite  of  the  terror  which  the 
name  alone  of  Fan  Volodyovski  roused  in  the  robbers  on 
both  sides  of  the  boundary.  In  fact,  another  party  brought 
intelligence  that  it  was  composed  of  more  than  four  hundred 
men,  under  the  leadership  of  Azba  Bey,  a  famous  ravager, 
who  for  a  number  of  years  had  filled  the  Polish  and  Mol- 
davian banks  with  terror. 

Pan  Volodyovski  was  delighted  when  he  knew  with  whom 
he  had  to  do,  and  issued  proper  orders  at  once.  Besides 
Mellehovich  and  Pan  Motovidlo,  the  squadron  of  the 
starosta  of  Podolia  went,  and  that  of  the  under-stolnik  of 
Premysl.  They  set  out  in  the  night,  and,  as  it  were,  in  differ- 
ent directions ;  for  as  fishermen  who  cast  their  nets  widely,  in 
order  afterward  to  meet  at  one  opening,  so  those  squadrons, 
marching  in  a  broad  circle,  were  to  meet  at  Sirotski  Brod 
about  dawn. 

Basia  assisted  with  beating  heart  at  the  departure  of  the 
troops,  since  this  was  to  be  her  first  expedition;  and  the 
heart  rose  in  her  at  sight  of  those  old  wolves  of  the 
steppe.  They  went  so  quietly  that  in  the  fortalice  itself  it 
was  possible  not  to  hear  them :  the  bridle-bits  did  not  rattle  ; 
stirrup  did  not  strike  against  stirrup,  sabre  against  sabre ; 
not  a  horse  neighed.  The  night  was  calm  and  unusually 
bright.  The  full  moon  lighted  clearly  the  heights  of  the 
stanitsa  and  the  steppe,  which  was  somewhat  inclined 
toward  every  side ;  still,  barely  had  a  squadron  left  the 
stockade,  barely  had  it  glittered  with  silver  sparks,  which 
the  moon  marked  on  the  sabres,  when  it  had  vanished  from 
the  eye  like  a  flock  of  partridges  into  waves  of  grass.  It 
seemed  to  Basia  that  they  were  sportsmen  setting  out  on 
some  hunt,  which  was  to  begin  at  daybreak,  and  were  going 
therefore  quietly  and  carefully,  so  as  not  to  rouse  the  game 
too  early.  Hence  great  desire  entered  her  heart  to  take 
part  in  that  hunt. 

Pan  Michael  did  not  oppose  this,  for  Zagloba  had  inclined 


212  PAN  MICHAEL. 

him  to  consent.  He  knew  besides  that  it  was  necessary  to 
gratify  Basia's  wish  sometime  ;  he  preferred  therefore  to 
do  it  at  once,  especially  since  the  ravagers  were  not  accus- 
tomed to  bows  and  muskets.  But  they  moved  only  three 
hours  after  the  departure  of  the  first  squadrons,  for  Pan 
Michael  had  thus  planned  the  whole  affair.  Pan  Mushalski, 
with  twenty  of  Linkhauz's  dragoons  and  a  sergeant,  went 
with  them,  —  all  Mazovians,  choice  men,  behind  whose 
sabres  the  charming  wife  of  the  commandant  was  as  safe 
as  in  her  husband's  room. 

Basia  herself,  having  to  ride  on  a  man's  saddle,  was 
dressed  accordingly  ;  she  wore  pearl-colored  velvet  trousers, 
very  wide,  looking  like  a  petticoat,  and  thrust  into  yellow 
morocco  boots  ;  a  gray  overcoat  lined  with  white  Crimean 
sheep-skin  and  embroidered  ornamentally  at  the  seams  ;  she 
carried  a  silver  cartridge-box,  of  excellent  work,  a  light 
Turkish  sabre  on  a  silk  pendant,  and  pistols  in  her  holsters. 
Her  head  was  covered  with  a  cap,  having  a  crown  of  Vene- 
tian velvet,  adorned  with  a  heron-feather,  and  bound  with 
a  rim  of  lynx-skin ;  from  under  the  cap  looked  forth  a 
bright  rosy  face,  almost  childlike,  and  two  eyes  curious  and 
gleaming  like  coals. 

Thus  equipped,  and  sitting  on  a  chestnut  pony,  swift  and 
gentle  as  a  deer,  she  seemed  a  hetman's  child,  who,  under 
guard  of  old  warriors,  was  going  to  take  the  first  lesson. 
They  were  astonished  too  at  her  figure.  Pan  Zagloba 
and  Pan  Mushalski  nudged  each  other  with  their  elbows, 
each  kissing  his  hand  from  time  to  time,  in  sign  of  unusual 
homage  for  Basia ;  both  of  them,  together  with  Pan.  Michael, 
allayed  her  fear  as  to  their  late  departure. 

"You  do  not  know  war,"  said  the  little  knight,  "and 
therefore  reproach  us  with  wishing  to  take  you  to  the  place 
when  the  battle  is  over.  Some  squadrons  go  directly ;  others 
must  make  a  detour,  so  as  to  cut  off  the  roads,  and  then  they 
will  join  the  others  in  silence,  taking  the  enemy  in  a  trap. 
We  shall  be  there  in  time,  and  without  us  nothing  will 
begin,  for  every  hour  is  reckoned." 

"  But  if  the  enemy  takes  alarm  and  escapes  between  the 
squadrons  ?  " 

"  He  is  cunning  and  watchful,  but  such  a  war  is  no 
novelty  to  us." 

"  Trust  in  Michael,"  cried  Zagloba ;  "  for  there  is  not  a 
man  of  more  practice  than  he.  Their  evil  fate  sent  those 
bullock-drivers  hither." 


1'AN    MICIIAKL.  213 

"In  Luliiii  I  was  a  youth,"  said  Pan  Michael;  "and  even 
then  they  committed  such  duties  to  me.  Now,  wishing 
to  show  you  this  spectacle,  I  have  disposed  everything  with 
still  greater  care.  The  squadrons  will  appear  before  the 
enemy  together,  will  shout  together,  and  gallop  against 
the  robbers  together,  as  if  some  one  had  cracked  a  whip." 

"I!  I!"  piped  Basia,  with  delight;  and  standing  in  the 
stirrups,  she  caught  the  little  knight  by  the  neck.  "  But 
may  I  gallop,  too  ?  What,  Michael,  what  ?  "  asked  she, 
with  sparkling  eyes. 

"Into  the  throng  I  will  not  let  you  go,  for  in  the  throng 
an  accident  is  easy,  not  to  mention  this,  —  that  your  horse 
might  stumble  ;  but  I  have  ordered  to  give  rein  to  our  horses 
immediately  the  band  driven  against  us  is  scattered,  and 
then  you  may  cut  down  two  or  three  men,  and  attack  always 
on  the  left  side,  for  in  that  way  it  will  be  awkward  for  the 
fugitive  to  strike  across  his  horse  at  you,  while  you  will 
have  him  under  your  hand." 

"  Ho  !  ho  !  never  fear.  You  said  yourself  that  I  work 
with  the  sabre  far  better  than  Uncle  Makovetski;  let  no 
one  give  me  advice  ! " 

"  Remember  to  hold  the  bridle  firmly,"  put  in  Zagloba. 
"  They  have  their  methods ;  and  it  may  be  that  when  you 
are  chasing,  the  fugitive  will  turn  his  horse  suddenly  and 
stop,  then  before  you  can  pass,  he  may  strike  you.  A 
veteran  never  lets  his  horse  out  too  much,  but  reins  him  in 
as  he  wishes." 

"  And  never  raise  your  sabre  too  high,  lest  you  be  exposed 
to  a  thrust,"  said  Fan  Mushalski. 

"  I  shall  be  near  her  to  guard  against  accident,"  said  the 
little  knight.  "  You  see,  in  battle  the  whole  difficulty  is  in 
this,  that  you  must  think  of  all  things  at  once,  —  of  your 
horse,  of  the  enemy,  of  your  bridle,  the  sabre,  the  blow,  and 
the  thrust,  all  at  one  time.  For  him  who  is  trained  this 
comes  of  itself ;  but  at  first  even  renowned  fencers  are  fre- 
quently awkward,  and  any  common  fellow,  if  in  practice, 
will  unhorse  a  new  man  more  skilled  than  himself.  There- 
fore I  will  be  at  your  side." 

"  But  do  not  rescue  me,  and  give  command  to  the  men 
that  no  one  is  to  rescue  me  without  need." 

"  Well,  well !  we  shall  see  yet  what  your  courage  will 
be  when  it  comes  to  a  trial,"  answered  the  little  knight, 
langhing; 

"  Or  if  you  will  not  seize  one  of  us  by  the  skirts,"  finished 
Zagloba. 


214  PAN   MICHAEL. 

"  We  shall  see  !  "  said  Basia,  with  indignation. 

Thus  conversing,  they  entered  a  place  covered  here  and 
there  with  thicket.  The  hour  was  not  far  from  daybreak, 
but  it  had  become  darker,  for  the  moon  had  gone  down.  A 
light  fog  had  begun  to  rise  from  the  ground  and  conceal 
distant  objects.  In  that  light  fog  and  gloom,  the  indistinct 
thickets  at  a  distance  took  the  forms  of  living  creatures 
in  the  excited  imagination  of  Basia.  More  than  once  it 
seemed  to  her  that  she  saw  men  and  horses  clearly. 

"  Michael,  what  is  that  ?  "  asked  she,  whispering,  and 
pointing  with  her  finger. 

"  Nothing ;  bushes." 

"  I  thought  it  was  horsemen.     Shall  we  be  there  soon  ?  " 

"  The  affair  will  begin  in  something  like  an  hour  and  a 
half." 

"  Ha ! " 

"  Are  you  afraid  ?  " 

"  No  j  but  my  heart  beats  with  great  desire.  I,  fear  ! 
Nothing  and  nothing  !  See,  what  hoar-frost  lies  there  !  It 
is  visible  in  the  dark." 

In  fact,  they  were  riding  along  a  strip  of  country  on  which 
the  long  dry  steins  of  steppe-grass  were  covered  with  hoar- 
frost. Pan  Michael  looked  and  said,  — 

"  Motovidlo  has  passed  this  way.  He  must  be  hidden 
not  more  than  a  couple  of  miles  distant.  It  is  dawning 
already  !  " 

In  fact,  day  was  breaking.  The  gloom  was  decreasing. 
The  sky  and  earth  were  becoming  gray  ;  the  air  was  grow- 
ing pale ;  the  tops  of  the  trees  and  the  bushes  were  becom- 
ing covered,  as  it  were,  with  silver.  The  farther  clumps 
began  to  disclose  themselves,  as  if  some  one  were  raising  a 
curtain  from  before  them  one  after  another.  Meanwhile 
from  the  next  clump  a  horseman  came  out  suddenly. 

"From  Fan  Motovidlo?"  asked  Volodyovski,  when  the 
Cossack  stopped  right  before  them. 

"  Yes,  your  grace." 

"  What  is  to  be  heard  ?  " 

"  They  crossed  Sirotski  Brod,  turned  toward  the  bellow- 
ing of  the  bullocks,  and  went  in  the  direction  of  Kalusik. 
They  took  the  cattle,  and  are  at  Yurgove  Polye." 

"  And  where  is  Pan  Motovidlo  ?  " 

"  He  has  stopped  near  the  hill,  and  Pan  Mellehovich  near 
Kalusik.  Where  the  other  squadrons  are  I  know  not." 

"Well,"   said   Volodyovski,  "I   know.      Hurry   to   Pan 


PAN   MICHAEL.  L'ir> 

Motovidlo  and  carry  the  command  to  close  in,  and  dispose 
men  singly  as  far  as  halfway  from  Pan  Mellehovich. 
Hurry  !  " 

The  Cossack  bent  in  the  saddle  arid  shot  forward,  so 
that  the  flanks  of  his  horse  quivered  at  once,  and  soon 
he  was  out  of  sight.  They  rode  on  still  more  quietly, 
still  more  cautiously.  Meanwhile  it  had  become  clear 
day.  The  haze  which  had  risen  from  the  earth  about 
dawn  fell  away  altogether,  and  on  the  eastern  side  of  the 
sky  appeared  a  long  streak,  bright  and  rosy,  the  rosiness 
and  light  of  which  began  to  color  the  air  on  high  land, 
the  edges  of  distant  ravines,  and  the  hill-tops.  Then  there 
came  to  the  ears  of  the  horsemen  a  mingled  croaking  from 
the  direction  of  the  Dniester ;  and  high  in  the  air  before 
them  appeared,  flying  eastward,  an  immense  flock  of  ravens. 
Single  birds  separated  every  moment  from  the  others,  and 
instead  of  flying  forward  directly  began  to  describe  circles, 
as  kites  and  falcons  do  when  seeking  for  prey.  Pan  Zagloba 
raised  his  sabre,  pointing  the  tip  of  it  to  the  ravens,  and 
said  to  Basia,  — 

"  Admire  the  sense  of  these  birds.  Only  let  it  come  to  a 
battle  in  any  place,  straightway  they  will  fly  in  from  every 
side,  as  if  some  one  had  shaken  them  from  a  bag.  But  let 
the  same  army  march  alone,  or  go  out  to  meet  friends,  the 
birds  will  not  come ;  thus  are  these  creatures  able  to  divine 
the  intentions  of  men,  though  no  one  assists  them.  The 
wisdom  of  nostrils  is  not  sufficient  in  this  case,  and  so  we 
have  reason  to  wonder." 

Meanwhile  the  birds,  croaking  louder  and  louder,  ap- 
proached considerably ;  therefore  Pan  Mushalski  turned  to 
the  little  knight  and  said,  striking  his  palm  on  the  bow, 
'•  I 'an  Commandant,  will  it  be  forbidden  to  bring  down  one, 
to  please  the  lady  ?  It  will  make  no  noise." 

"  Bring  down  even  two,"  said  Volodyovski,  seeing  how  the 
old  soldier  had  the  weakness  of  showing  the  certainty  of 
his  arrows. 

Thereupon  the  incomparable  bowman,  reaching  behind  his 
shoulder,  took  out  a  feathered  arrow,  put  it  on  the  string, 
and  raising  the  bow  and  his  head,  waited. 

The  flock  was  drawing  nearer  and  nearer.  All  reined  in 
their  horses  and  looked  with  curiosity  toward  the  sky.  All 
at  once  the  plaintive  wheeze  of  the  string  was  heard,  like 
the  twitter  of  a  sparrow;  and  the  arrow,  rushing  forth, 
vanished  near  the  flock.  For  a  while  it  might  be  thought 


216  PAN  MICHAEL. 

that  Mushalski  had  missed,  but,  behold,  a  bird  reeled  head 
downward,  and  was  dropping  straight  toward  the  ground 
over  their  heads,  then  tumbling  continually,  approached 
nearer  and  nearer ;  at  last  it  began  to  fall  with  outspread 
wings,  like  a  leaf  opposing  the  air.  Soon  it  fell  a  few  steps 
in  front  of  Basia's  pony.  The  arrow  had  gone  through 
the  raven,  so  that  the  point  was  gleaming  above  the  bird's 
back. 

"As  a  lucky  omen,"  said  Mushalski,  bowing  to  Basia,  "I 
will  have  an  eye  from  a  distance  on  the  lady  comrnandress 
and  my  great  benefactress ;  and  if  there  is  a  sudden  emer- 
gency, God  grant  me  again  to  send  out  a  fortunate  arrow. 
Though  it  may  buzz  near  by,  I  assure  you  that  it  will  not 
wound." 

"  I  should  not  like  to  be  the  Tartar  under  your  aim," 
answered  Basia. 

Further  conversation  was  interrupted  by  Volodyovski, 
who  said,  pointing  to  a  considerable  eminence  some  furlongs 
away,  "We  will  halt  there." 

After  these  words  they  moved  forward  at  a  trot.  Half- 
way up,  the  little  knight  commanded  them  to  lessen  their 
pace,  and  at  last,  not  far  from  the  top,  he  held  in  his  horse. 

"  We  will  not  go  to  the  very  top,"  said  he,  "  for  on  such 
a  bright  morning'  the  eye  might  catch  us  from  a  distance  ; 
but  dismounting,  we  will  approach  the  summit,  so  that  a 
few  heads  may  look  over." 

When  he  had  said  this,  he  sprang  from  his  horse,  and 
after  him  Basia,  Pan  Mushalski,  and  a  number  of  others. 
The  dragoons  remained  below  the  summit,  holding  their 
horses ;  but  the  others  pushed  on  to  where  the  height 
descended  in  wall  form,  almost  perpendicularly,  to  the 
valley.  At  the  foot  of  this  wall,  which  was  a  number  of 
tens  of  yards  in  height,  grew  a  somewhat  dense,  narrow 
strip  of  brushwood,  and  farther  on  extended  a  low  level 
steppe;  of  this -they  were  able  to  take  in  an  enormous 
expanse  with  their  eyes  from  the  height.  This  plain,  cut 
through  by  a  small  stream  running  in  the  direction  of 
Kalusik,  was  covered  with  clumps  of  thicket  in  the  same 
way  that  it  was  near  the  cliff.  In  the  thickest  clumps 
slender  columns  of  smoke  were  rising  to  the  sky. 

"  You  see,"  said  Pan  Michael  to  Basia,  "  that  the  enemy 
is  hidden  there." 

"I  see  smoke,  but  I  see  neither  men  nor  horses,"  said 
Basia,  with  a  beating  heart.' 


PAN    .MICHAEL.  217 

"  No ;  for  they  are  concealed  by  the  thickets,  though  a 
trained  eye  can  see  them.  Look  there :  two,  three,  four,  a 
whole  group  of  horses  are  to  be  seen,  —  one  pied,  another 
all  white,  and  from  here  one  seems  blue." 

"  Shall  we  go  to  them  soon  ?  " 

"  They  will  be  driven  to  us ;  but  we  have  time  enough,  for 
to  that  thicket  it  is  a  mile  and  a  quarter." 

"  Where  are  our  men  ?  " 

"  Do  you  see  the  edge  of  the  wood  yonder  ?  The  chanv 
hcrlain's  squadron  must  be  touching  that  edge  just  now. 
Mellehovich  will  come  out  of  the  other  side  in  a  moment. 
The  accompanying  squadron  will  attack  the  robbers  from 
that  cliff.  Seeing  people,  they  will  move  toward  us,  for 
here  it  is  possible  to  go  to  the  river  under  the  slope ;  but  on 
the  other  side  there  is  a  ravine,  terribly  steep,  through  which 
no  one  can  go." 

"  Then  they  are  in  a  trap  ?  " 

"  As  you  see." 

"  For  God's  sake  !  I  am  barely  able  to  stand  still !  "  cried 
Basia;  but  after  a  while  she  inquired,  "Michael,  if  they 
were  wise,  what  would  they  do  ?  " 

"  They  would  rush,  as  if  into  smoke,  at  the  men  of  the 
chamberlain's  squadron  and  go  over  their  bellies.  Then 
they  would  be  free.  But  they  will  not  do  that,  for,  first, 
they  do  not  like  to  rush  into  the  eyes  of  regular  cavalry ; 
secondly,  they  will  be  afraid  that  more  troops  are  waiting 
in  the  forest;  therefore  they  will  rush  to  us." 

"  Bah  !  But  we  cannot  resist  them ;  we  have  only  twenty 
men." 

"  But  Motovidlo  ?  " 

"  True  !    Ha  !  but  where  is  he  ?  " 

Pan  Michael,  instead  of  an  answer,  cried  suddenly,  imi- 
tating a  hawk.  Straightway  numerous  calls  answered  him 
from  the  foot  of  the  cliff.  These  were  Motovidlo's  Cos- 
sacks, who  were  secreted  so  well  in  the  thicket  that  Basia,' 
though  standing  right  above  their  heads,  had  not  seen  them 
at  all.  She  looked  for  a  while  with  astonishment,  now 
downward,  now  at  the  little  knight;  suddenly  her  eyes 
flashed  with  fire,  and  she  seized  her  husband  by  the  neck. 

"  Michael,  you  are  the  first  leader  on  earth." 

"  I  have  a  little  training,  that  is  all,"  answered  Volody- 
ovski,  smiling.  "  But  do  not  pat  me  here  with  delight,  and 
remember  that  a  good  soldier  must  be  calm." 

But  the  warning  was  useless  ;  Basia  was  as  if  in  a  fever. 


218  PAN   MICHAEL. 

She  wished  to  sit  straightway  on  her  horse  and  ride  down 
from  the  height  to  join  Motovidlo's  detachment ;  but  Volo- 
dyovski  delayed,  for  he  wished  her  to  see  the  beginning 
clearly.  Meanwhile  the  morning  sun  had  risen  over  the 
steppe  and  covered  with  a  cold,  pale  yellow  light  the  whole 
plain.  The  nearer  clumps  of  trees  were  brightening  cheer- 
fully ;  the  more  distant  and  less  distinct  became  more  dis- 
tinct ;  the  hoar-frost,  lying  in  the  low  places  in  spots,  was 
disappearing  every  moment ;  the  air  had  grown  quite  trans- 
parent, and  the  glance  could  extend  to  a  distance  almost 
without  limit. 

"  The  chamberlain's  squadron  is  coming  out  of  the  grove," 
said  Volodyovski ;  "  I  see  men  and  horses." 

In  fact,  horses  began  to  emerge  from  the  edge  of  the  wood, 
and  seemed  black  in  a  long  line  on  the  meadow,  which 
was  thickly  covered  with  hoar-frost  near  the  wood.  The 
white  space  between  them  and  the  wood  began  to  widen 
gradually.  It  was  evident  that  they  were  not  hurrying  too 
much,  wishing  to  give  time  to  the  other  squadrons.  Pan 
Michael  turned  then  to  the  left  side. 

"  Mellehovich  is  here  too,"  said  he.  And  after  a  while 
he  said  again,  "  And  the  men  of  the  under-stolnik  of  Pre- 
mysl  are  coming.  No  one  is  behind  time  two  '  Our  Fathers.' 
Not  a  foot  should  escape  !  Now  to  horse  !  " 

They  turned  quickly  to  the  dragoons,  and  springing  into 
the  saddles  rode  down  along  the  flank  of  the  height  to  the 
thicket  below,  where  they  found  themselves  among  Moto- 
vidlo's Cossacks.  Then  they  moved  in  a  mass  to  the  edge 
of  the  thicket,  and  halted,  looking  forward. 

It  was  evident  that  the  enemy  had  seen  the  squadron 
of  the  chamberlain,  for  at  that  moment  crowds  of  horse- 
men rushed  out  of  the  grove  growing  in  the  middle  of 
the  plain,  as  deer  rush  when  some  one  has  roused  them. 
Every  moment  more  of  them  came  out.  Forming  a  line, 
they  moved  at  first  over  the  steppe  by  the  edge  of  the 
grove;  the  horsemen  bent  to  the  backs  of  the  horses,  so 
that  from  a  distance  it  might  be  supposed  that  that  was 
merely  a  herd  moving  of  itself  along  the  grove.  Clearly, 
they  were  not  certain  yet  whether  the  squadron  was  moving 
against  them,  or  even  saw  them,  or  whether  it  was  a 
detachment  examining  the  neighborhood.  In  the  last  event 
they  might  hope  that  the  grove  would  hide  them  from  the 
eyes  of  the  on-coming  party. 

From  the  place  where  Pan  Michael  stood,  at  the  head  of 


TAN   MICHAEL.  219 

Motovidlo's  men,  the  uncertain  and  hesitating  movements 
of  the  chambul  could  be  seen  perfectly,  and  were  just  like 
the  movements  of  wild  beasts  sniffing  danger.  When  they 
had  ridden  half  the  width  of  the  grove,  they  began  to  go  at 
a  light  gallop.  When  the  first  ranks  reached  the  open 
plain,  they  held  in  their  beasts  suddenly,  and  then  the 
whole  party  did  the  same.  They  saw  approaching  from 
that  side  Mellehovich's  detachment.  Then  they  described 
a  half-circle  in  the  direction  opposite  the  grove,  and  before 
their  eyes  appeared  the  whole  Premysl  squadron,  moving 
at  a  trot. 

Now  it  was  clear  to  the  robbers  that  all  the  squad- 
rons knew  of  their  presence  and  were  marching  against 
them.  Wild  cries  were  heard  in  the  midst  of  the  party, 
and  disorder  began.  The  squadrons,  shouting  also,  ad- 
vanced on  a  gallop,  so  that  the  plain  was  thundering  from 
the  tramp  of  their  horses.  Seeing  this,  the  robber  chambul 
extended  in  the  form  of  a  bench  in  the  twinkle  of  an  eye, 
and  chased  with  what  breath  was  in  the  breasts  of  their 
horses  toward  the  elevation  near  which  the  little  knight 
stood  with  Motovidlo  and  his  men.  The  space  between 
them  began  to  decrease  with  astonishing  rapidity. 

Basia  grew  somewhat  pale  from  emotion  at. first,  and  her 
heart  thumped  more  powerfully  in  her  breast ;  but  knowing 
that  people  were  looking  at  her,  and  not  noticing  the  least 
alarm  on  any  face,  she  controlled  herself  quickly.  Then 
the  crowd,  approaching  like  a  whirlwind,  occupied  all  her 
attention.  She  tightened  the  rein,  grasped  her  sabre  more 
firmly,  and  the  blood  again  flowed  with  great  impulse  from 
her  heart  to  her  face. 

"  Good !  "  said  the  little  knight. 

She  looked  only  at  him  ;  her  nostrils  quivered,  and  she 
whispered,  "  Shall  we  move  soon  ?  " 

"  There  is  time  yet,"  answered  Pan  Michael. 

But  the  others  are  chasing  on,  like  a  gray  wolf  who  feels 
dogs  behind  him.  Now  not  more  than  half  a  furlong  divides 
them  from  the  thicket ;  the  outstretched  heads  of  the  horses 
are  to  be  seen,  with  ears  lying  down,  and  over  them  Tartar 
faces,  as  if  grown  to  the  mane.  They  are  nearer  and  nearer. 
Basia  hears  the  snorting  of  the  horses ;  and  they,  with 
bared  teeth  and  staring  eyes,  show  that  they  are  going  at 
such  speed  that  their  breath  is  stopping.  Volodyovski 
gives  a  sign,  and  the  Cossack  muskets,  standing  hedge-like, 
incline  toward  the  onrushinu:  robbers. 


220  PAN  MICHAEL. 

«  Fire  ! " 

A  roar,  smoke :  it  was  as  if  a  whirlwind  had  struck  a  pile 
of  chaff.  In  one  twinkle  of  an  eye  the  party  flew  apart  in 
every  direction,  howling  and  shouting.  With  that  the  little 
knight  pushed  out  of  the  thicket,  and  at  the  same  time 
Mellehovich's  squadron,  and  that  of  the  chamberlain,  closing 
the  circle,  forced  the  scattered  enemy  to  the  centre  again 
in  one  group.  The  horde  seek  in  vain  to  escape  singly ;  in 
vain  they  circle  around ;  they  rush  to  the  right,  to  the  left, 
to  the  front,  to  the  rear ;  the  circle  is  closed  up  completely ; 
the  robbers  come  therefore  more  closely  together  in  spite  of 
themselves.  Meanwhile  the  squadrons  hurry  up,  and  a 
horrible  smashing  begins. 

The  ravagers  understood  that  only  he  would  escape  with 
his  life  who  could  batter  his  way  through  ;  hence  they  fell 
to  defending  themselves  with  rage  and  despair,  though 
without  order  and  each  for  himself  independently.  In  the 
very  beginning  they  covered  the  field  thickly,  so  great  was 
the  fury  of  the  shock.  The  soldiers,  pressing  them  and 
urging  their  horses  on  in  spite  of  the  throng,  hewed  and 
thrust  with  that  merciless  and  terrible  skill  which  only  a 
soldier  by  profession  can  have.  The  noise  of  pounding  was 
heard  above  that  circle  of  men,  like  the  thumping  of  flails 
wielded  by  a  multitude  quickly  on  a  threshing-space.  The 
horde  were  slashed  and  cut  through  their  heads,  shoulders, 
necks,  and  through  the  hands  with  which  they  covered  their 
heads ;  they  were  beaten  on  every  side  unceasingly,  with- 
out quarter  or  pity.  They  too  struck,  each  with  what  he 
had,  with  daggers,  with  sabres,  with  sling-shots,  with  horse- 
skulls.  Their  horses,  pushed  to  the  centre,  rose  on  their 
haunches,  or  fell  on  their  backs.  Others,  biting  and  whining, 
kicked  at  the  throng,  causing  confusion  unspeakable.  After 
a  short  struggle  in  silence,  a  howl  was  torn  from  the  breasts 
of  the  robbers ;  superior  numbers  were  bending  them, 
better  weapons,  greater  skill.  They  understood  that  there 
was  no  rescue  for  them ;  that  no  man  would  leave  there, 
not  only  with  plunder,  but  with  life.  The  soldiers,  warm- 
ing up  gradually,  pounded  them  with  growing  force.  Some 
of  the  robbers  sprang  from  their  saddles,  wishing  to  slip 
away  between  the  legs  of  the  horses.  These  were  trampled 
with  hoofs,  and  sometimes  the  soldiers  turned  from  the 
fight  and  pierced  the  fugitives  from  above ;  some  fell  on 
the  ground,  hoping  that  when  the  squadrons  pushed  toward 
the  centre,  they,  left  beyond  the  circle,  might  escape  by 
flight. 


PAN   MICHAEL.  221 

In  fact,  the  party  decreased  more  and  more,  for  every 
moment  horses  and  men  fell  away.  Seeing  this,  Azba  Bey 
collected,  as  far  us  lie  was  able,  horses  and  men  in  a  wedge, 
and  threw  himself  with  all  his  might  on  Mofcovidlo's  Cos- 
sacks, wishing  to  break  the  ring  at  any  cost.  But  they 
hurled  him  back,  and  then  began  a  terrible  slaughter.  At 
that  same  time  Mellehovich,  raging  like  a  flame,  split  the 
party,  and  leaving  the  halves  to  two  other  squadrons, 
sprang  himself  on  the  shoulders  of  those  who  were  righting 
with  the  Cossacks. 

It  is  true  that  a  part  of  the  robbers  escaped  from  the 
ring  to  the  field  through  this  movement  and  rushed  apart 
over  the  plain,  like  a  flock  of  leaves  ;  but  soldiers  in  the 
rear  ranks  who  could  not  find  access  to  the  battle,  through 
the  narrowness  of  the  combat,  rushed  after  them  straight- 
way in  twos  and  threes  or  singly.  Those  who  were  unable 
to  break  out  went  under  the  sword  in  spite  of  their  pas- 
sionate defence  and  fell  near  each  other,  like  grain  which 
harvesters  are  reaping  from  opposite  sides. 

Basia  moved  on  with  the  Cossacks,  piping  with  a  thin 
voice  to  give  herself  courage,  for  at  the  first  moment  it 
grew  a  little  dark  in  her  eyes,  both  from  the  speed  and  the 
mighty  excitement.  When  she  rushed  up  to  the  enemy, 
she  saw  before  her  at  first  only  a  dark,  moving,  surging 
mass.  An  overpowering  desire  to  close  her  eyes  altogether 
was  bearing  her  away.  She  resisted  the  desire,  it  is  true; 
still  she  struck  with  her  sabre  somewhat  at  random.  Soon 
her  daring  overcame  her  confusion  ;  she  had  clear  vision  at 
once.  In  front  she  saw  heads  of  horses,  behind  them  in- 
flamed and  wild  faces ;  one  of  these  gleamed  right  there 
before  her ;  Basia  gave  a  sweeping  cut,  and  the  face  van- 
ished as  quickly  as  if  it  had  been  a  phantom.  That. moment 
the  calm  voice  of  her  husband  came  to  her  ears. 

"  Good  ! " 

That  voice  gave  her  uncommon  pleasure;  she  piped  again 
more  thinly,  and  began  to  extend  disaster,  and  now  with 
perfect   presence   of   mind.     Behold,   again   some   terrible 
head,  with  flat  nose  and  projecting  cheek-bones,  is  gnashing 
its  teeth  before  her.    Basia  gives  a  blow  at  that  one.    Again 
a  hand  raises  a  sling-shot.     Basia  strikes  at  that.     She  sees 
some  face  in  a  sheepskin  ;  she  thrusts  at  that.     Then  she  . 
•strikes  to  the  right,  to  the  left,  straight  ahead;  and  when 
ever  she  cuts,  a  man  flies  to  the  ground,  tearing  the  bridle 
from  his  horse.     Basia  wonders  that  it  is  so  easy ;  but  it  is 


222  PAN   MICHAEL. 

easy  because  on  one  side  rides,  stirrup  to  her  stirrup,  the 
little  knight,  and  on  the  other  Pan  Motovidlo.  The  first 
looks  carefully  after  her,  and  quenches  a  man  as  he  would  a 
candle ;  then  with  his  keen  blade  he  cuts  off  an  arm  together 
with  its  weapon ;  at  times  he  thrusts  his  sword  between 
Basia  and  the  enemy,  and  the  hostile  sabre  flies  upward  as 
suddenly  as  would  a  winged  bird. 

Pan  Motovidlo,  a  phlegmatic  soldier,  guarded  the  other 
side  of  the  mettlesome  lady ;  and  as  an  industrious 
gardener,  going  among  trees,  trims  or  breaks  off  dry 
branches,  so  he  time  after  time  brings  down  men  to  the 
bloody  earth,  fighting  as  coolly  and  calmly  as  if  his  mind 
were  in  another  place.  Both  knew  when  to  let  Basia  go 
forward  alone,  and  when  to  anticipate  or  intercept  her. 
There  was  watching  over  her  from  a  distance  still  a  third 
man,  —  the  incomparable  archer,  who,  standing  purposely  at 
a  distance,  put  every  little  while  the  butt  of  an  arrow  on 
the  string,  and  sent  an  unerring  messenger  of  death  to  the 
densest  throng. 

But  the  pressure  became  so  savage  that  Pan  Michael 
commanded  Basia  to  withdraw  from  the  whirl  with  some 
men,  especially  as  the  half-wild  horses  of  the  horde  began 
to  bite  and  kick.  Basia  obeyed  quickly ;  for  although  eager- 
ness was  bearing  her  away,  and  her  valiant  heart  urged  her 
to  continue  the  struggle,  her  woman's  nature  was  gaining 
the  upper  hand  of  her  ardor ;  and  in  presence  of  that 
slaughter  and  blood,  in  the  midst  of  howls,  groans,  and  the 
agonies  of  the  dying,  in  an  atmosphere  filled  with  the  odor 
of  flesh  and  sweat,  she  began  to  shudder.  Withdrawing  her 
horse  slowly,  she  soon  found  herself  behind  the  circle  of 
combatants ;  hence  Pan  Michael  and  Pan  Motovidlo,  relieved 
from  guarding  her,  were  able  to  give  perfect  freedom  at  last 
to  their  soldierly  wishes. 

Pan  Mushalski,  standing  hitherto  at  a  distance,  approached 
Basia.  "  Your  ladyship,  my  benefactress,  fought  really  like 
a  cavalier,"  said  he.  "  A  man  not  knowing  that  you  were 
there  might  have  thought  that  the  Archangel  Michael  had 
come  down  to  help  our  Cossacks,  and  was  smiting  the  dog 
brothers.  What  an  honor  for  them  to  perish  under  such  a 
hand,  which  on  this  occasion  let  it  not  be  forbidden  me  to 
kiss."  So  saying,  Pan  Mushalski  seized  Basia's  hand  and 
pressed  it  to  his  mustache. 

"  Did  you  see  ?  Did  I  do  well,  really  ?  "  inquired  Basia, 
catching  the  air  in  her  distended  nostrils  and  her  mouth. 


PAN   M1C11AKL.  223 

"  A  cat  could  not  do  better  against  rats.  The  heart  rose 
in  me  at  sight  of  you,  as  I  love  the  Lord  God.  But  you  did 
well  to  withdraw  from  the  tight,  for  toward  the  end  there 
is  more  chance  for  an  accident." 

"  My  husband  commanded  me  ;  and  when  leaving  home, 
I  promised  to  obey  him  at  once." 

"  May  my  bow  remain  ?  No !  it  is  of  no  use  now ; 
besides,  I  will  rush  forward  with  the  sabre.  I  see  three 
men  riding  up ;  of  course  the  colonel  has  sent  them  to  guard 
your  worthy  person.  Otherwise  I  would  send ;  but  I  will 
go  to  the  foot  of  the  cliff,  for  the  end  will  come  soon,  and  I 
must  hurry." 

Three  dragoons  really  came  to  guard  Basia ;  seeing  this, 
Pan  Mushalski  spurred  his  horse  and  galloped  away.  For 
a  while  Basia  hesitated  whether  to  remain  in  that  place  or 
ride  around  the  steep  cliff,  and  go  to  the  eminence  from 
which  they  had  looked  on  the  plain  before  the  battle.  But 
feeling  great  weariness,  she  resolved  to  remain. 

The  feminine  nature  rose  in  her  more  and  more  power- 
fully. About  two  hundred  yards  distant  they  were  cutting 
down  the  remnant  of  the  ravagers  without  mercy,  and  a 
black  mass  of  strugglers  was  whirling  with  growing  violence 
on  the  bloody  place  of  conflict.  Despairing  cries  rent  the 
air;  and  Basia,  so  full  of  eagerness  shortly  before,  had 
grown  weak  now  in  some  way.  Great  fear  seized  her,  so 
that  she  came  near  fainting,  and  only  shame  in  presence  of 
the  dragoons  kept  her  in  the  saddle ;  she  turned  her  face  from 
them  to  hide  her  pallor.  The  fresh  air  brought  back  her 
strength  slowly  and  her  courage,  but  not  to  that  degree 
that  she  had  the  wish  to  spring  in  anew  among  the  com- 
batants. She  would  have  done  so  to  implore  mercy  for  the 
rest  of  the  horde.  But  knowing  that  that  would  be  useless, 
she  waited  anxiously  for  the  end  of  the  struggle.  And 
there  they  were  cutting  and  cutting.  The  sound  of  the 
hacking  and  the  cries  did  not  cease  for  a  moment.  Half  an 
hour  perhaps  had  passed;  the  squadrons  were  closing  in 
with  greater  force.  All  at  once  a  party  of  ravagers,  number- 
ing about  twenty,  tore  themselves  free  of  the  murderous 
circle,  and  rushed  like  a  whirlwind  toward  the  eminence. 

Escaping  along  the  cliff,  they  might  in  fact  reach  a  place 
where  the  eminence  was  lost  by  degrees  in  the  plain,  and 
find  on  the  high  steppe  their  salvation ;  but  in  their  way 
stood  Basia  with  the  dragoons.  The  sight  of  danger  gave 
Strength  to  Basia's  heart  at  this  moment,  and  self-control  to 


224  PAN   MICHAEL. 

her  mind.  She  understood  that  to  stay  where  she  was  was 
destruction;  for  the  robbers  with  impetus  alone  could 
overturn  and  trample  her  and  her  guards,  not  to  mention 
that  they  would  bear  them  apart  on  sabres.  The  old 
sergeant  of  dragoons  was  clearly  of  this  view,  for  he  seized 
the  bridle  of  Basia's  pony,  turned  the  beast,  and  cried  with 
voice  almost  desparing,  — 

"  On,  on  !  serene  lady  !  " 

Basia  shot  away  like  the  wind;  but  the  three  faithful 
soldiers  stood  like  a  wall  on  the  spot,  to  hold  back  the 
enemy  even  one  moment,  and  give  the  beloved  lady  time  to 
put  herself  at  a  distance.  Meanwhile  soldiers  galloped 
after  that  band  in  immediate  pursuit ;  but  the  circle  hitherto 
enclosing  the  ravagers  hermetically  was  thereby  broken  ; 
they  began  to  escape  in  twos,  in  threes,  and  then  more 
numerously.  The  enormous  majority  were  lying  on  the 
field,  but  some  tens  of  them,  together  with  Azba  Bey,  were 
able  to  flee.  All  these  rushed  on  in  a  body  as  fast  as  their 
horses  could  gallop  toward  the  eminence. 

Three  dragoons  could  not  detain  all  the  fugitives,  —  in  fact, 
after  a  short  struggle  they  fell  from  their  saddles  ;  but  the 
cloud,  running  on  behind  Basia,  turned  to  the  slope  of  the 
eminence  and  reached  the  high  steppe.  The  Polish  squad- 
rons in  the  front  ranks  and  the  nearer  Lithuanian  Tartars 
rushed  with  all  speed  some  tens  of  steps  behind  them.  On 
the  high  steppe,  which  was  cut  across  thickly  by  treacherous 
clefts  and  ravines,  was  formed  a  gigantic  serpent  of  those 
on  horseback,  the  head  of  which  was  Basia,  the  neck  the 
ravagers,  and  the  continuation  of  the  body  Mellehovich 
with  the  Lithuanian  Tartars  and  dragoons,  at  the  head  of 
which  rushed  Volodyovski,  with  his  spurs  in  the  side  of  his 
horse,  and  terror  in  his  soul. 

At  the  moment  when  •  the  handful  of  robbers  had  torn 
themselves  free  of  the  ring,  Volodyovski  was  engaged  on 
the  opposite  side  of  it ;  therefore  Mellehovich  preceded  him 
in  the  pursuit.  The  hair  was  standing  on  his  head  at  the 
thought  that  Basia  might  be  seized  by  the  fugitives ;  that 
she  might  lose  presence  of  mind,  and  rush  straight  toward 
the  Dniester ;  that  any  one  of  the  robbers  might  reach  her 
with  a  sabre,  a  dagger,  or  a  sling-shot,  —  and  the  heart  was 
sinking  in  him  from  fear  for  her  life.  Lying  almost  on  the 
neck  of  the  horse,  he  was  pale,  with  set  teeth,  a  whirlwind 
of  ghastly  thoughts  in  his  head ;  he  pricked  his  steed  with 
armed  heels,  struck  him  with  the  side  of  his  sword,  and 
flew  like  a  bustard  before  he  rises  to  soar. 


PAN   MICHAEL.  225 

"God  grant  Mellehovich  to  coine  up!  He  is  on  a  good 
horse.  God  grant  him  !  "  repeated  he,  in  despair. 

But  his  fears  were  ill  founded,  and  the  danger  was  not  so 
great  as  it  seemed  to  the  loving  knight.  The  question  of 
their  own  skins  was  too  near  to  the  robbers  ;  they  felt  the 
Lithuanian  Tartars  too  close  to  their  shoulders  to  pursue  a 
single  rider,  even  were  that  rider  the  most  beautiful  houri 
in  the  Mohammedan  paradise,  escaping  in  a  robe  set  with 
jewels.  Basia  needed  only  to  turn  toward  Hreptyoff  to 
escape  from,  pursuit;  for  surely  the  fugitives  would  not 
return  to  the  jaws  of  the  lion  for  her,  while  they  had  before 
them  a  river,  with  its  reeds  in  which  they  could  hide.  The 
Lithuanian  Tartars  had  better  horses,  and  Basia  was  sitting 
on  a  pony  incomparably  swifter  than  the  ordinary  shaggy 
beasts  of  the  horde,  which  were  enduring  in  flight,  but  not 
so  swift  as  horses  of  high  blood.  Besides,  she  not  only  did 
not  lose  presence  of  mind,  but  her  daring  nature  asserted 
itself  with  all  force,  and  knightly  blood  played  again  in  her 
veins.  The  pony  stretched  out  like  a  deer ;  the  wind 
whistled  in  Basia' s  ears,  and  instead  of  fear,  a  certain  feeling 
of  delight  seized  her. 

"They  might  hunt  a  whole  year,  and  not  catch  me," 
thought  she.  "  I  '11  rush  on  yet,  and  then  turn,  and  either  let 
them  pass,  or  if  they  have  not  stopped  pursuing,  I  will  put 
them  under  the  sabre." 

It  came  to  her  mind  that  if  the  ravagers  behind  her  were 
scattered  greatly  over  the  steppe,  she  might,  on  turning, 
meet  one  of  them  and  have  a  hand-to-hand  combat. 

"  Well,  what  is  that  ? "  said  she  to  her  valiant  soul. 
"Michael  has  taught  me  so  that  I  may  venture  boldly;  if 
I  do  not,  they  will  think  that  I  am  fleeing  through  fear, 
and  will  not  take  me  on  another  expedition ;  and  besides, 
ijan  Zagloba  will  make  sport  of  me." 

Saying  this  to  herself,  she  looked  around  at  the  robbers , 
but  they  were  fleeing  in  a  crowd.  There  was  no  possibility 
of  single  combat ;  but  Basia  wished  to  give  proof  before 
the  eyes  of  the  whole  army  that  she  was  not  fleeing  at 
random  and  in  frenzy.  Remembering  that  she  had  in  the 
holsters  two  excellent  pistols  carefully  loaded  by  Michael 
himself  before  they  set  out,  she  began  to  rein  in  her  pony, 
or  rather  to  turn  him  toward  Hreptyoff,  while  slacking  his 
speed.  But,  oh,  wonder !  at  sight  of  this  the  whole  party 
of  ravagers  changed  the  direction  of  their  flight  somewhat, 
going  wore  to  the  left,  toward  the  edge  of  the  eminence, 

IV 


226  PAN   MICHAEL. 

Basia,  letting  them  corne  within  a  few  tens  of  steps,  fired 
twice  at  the  nearest  horses ;  then,  turning,  urged  on  at  full 
gallop  toward  Hreptyoff. 

But  the  pony  had  run  barely  some  yards  with  the  speed 
of  a  sparrow,  when  suddenly  there  darkened  in  front  a  cleft 
in  the  steppe.  Basia  pressed  the  pony  with  her  spurs 
without  hesitation,  and  the  noble  beast  did  not  refuse,  but 
sprang  forward ;  only  his  fore  feet  caught  somewhat  the 
bank  opposite.  For  a  moment  he  strove  violently  to  find 
support  on  the  steep  wall  with  his  hind  feet ;  but  the  earth, 
not  sufficiently  frozen  yet,  fell  away,  and  the  horse  went 
down  through  the  opening,  with  Basia.  Fortunately  the 
horse  did  not  fall  on  her  ;  she  succeeded  in  freeing  her  feet 
from  the  stirrups,  and,  leaning  to  one  side  with  all  force, 
struck  on  a  thick  layer  of  moss,  which  covered  the  bottom 
of  the  chasm  as  if  with  a  lining ;  but  the  shock  was  so 
violent  that  she  fainted. 

Pan  Michael  did  not  see  the  fall,  for  the  horizon  was 
concealed  by  the  Lithuanian  Tartars ;  but  Mellehovich 
shouted  with  a  terrible  voice  at  his  men  to  pursue  the 
ravagers  without  stopping,  and  running  himself  to  the  cleft, 
disappeared  in  it.  In  a  twinkle  he  was  down  from  the 
saddle,  and  seized  Basia  in  his  arms.  His  falcon  eyes  saw 
her  all  in  one  moment,  looking  to  see  if  there  was  blood 
anywhere ;  then  they  fell  on  the  moss,  and  he  understood 
that  this  had  saved  her  and  the  pony  from  death.  A  stifled 
cry  of  joy  was  rent  from  the  mouth  of  the  young  Tartar. 
But  Basia  was  hanging  in  his  arms ;  he  pressed  her  with  all 
his  strength  to  his  breast ;  then  with  pale  lips  he  kissed  her 
eyes  time  after  time,  as  if  wishing  to  drink  them  out  of 
her  head.  The  whole  world  whirled  with  him  in  a  mad 
vortex  ;  the  passion  concealed  hitherto  in  the  bottom  of  his 
breast,  as  a  dragon  lies  concealed  in  a  cave,  carried  him  away 
like  a  storm. 

But  at  that  moment  the  tramp  of  many  horses  was  heard 
in  an  echo  from  the  lofty  steppe,  and  approached  more  and 
more  swiftly.  Numerous  voices  were  crying,  "  Here  !  in 
this  cleft !  Here  !  "  Mellehovich  placed  Basia  on  the 
moss,  and  called  to  those  riding  up,  — 

"  This  way,  this  way  !  " 

A  moment  later,  Pan  Michael  was  at  the  bottom  of  the 
cleft ;  after  him  Pan  Zagloba,  Mushalski,  and  a  number  of 
other  officers. 

"  Nothing  is  the  matter,"  cried  the  Tartar.  "  The  moss 
saved  her." 


PAN  MICHAEL.  227 

Pan  Michael  grasped  his  insensible  wife  by  the  hands ; 
others  ran  for  water,  which  was  not  near.  Zagloba,  seizing 
the  temples  of  the  unconscious  woman,  began  to  cry,  — 

"  Basia,  Basia,  dearest !  Basia  !  " 

"  Nothing  is  the  matter  with  her,"  said  Mellehovich,  pale 
as  a  corpse. 

Meanwhile  Zagloba  clapped  his  side,  took  a  flask,  poured 
gorailka  on  his  palm,  and  began  to  rub  her  temples.  Then 
he  put  the  flask  to  her  lips  ;  this  acted  evidently,  for  before 
the  men  returned  with  water,  she  had  opened  her  eyes  and 
began  to  catch  for  air,  coughing  meanwhile,  for  the  gorailka 
had  burned  the  roof  of  her  mouth  and  her  throat.  In  a 
few  moments  she  had  recovered  completely. 

Pan  Michael,  not  regarding -the  presence  of  officers  and 
soldiers,  pressed  her  to  his  bosom,  and  covered  her  hands 
with  kisses,  saying,  "  Oh,  my  love,  the  soul  came  near  leav- 
ing me  !  Has  nothing  hurt  ?  Does  nothing  pain  you  ?  " 

"  Nothing  is  the  matter,"  said  Basia.  "  Aha  !  I  remember 
now  that  it  grew  dark  in  my  eyes,  for  my  horse  slipped. 
But  is  the  battle  over  ?  " 

"  It  is.  Azba  Bey  is  killed.  We  will  go  home  at  once, 
for  I  am  afraid  that  fatigue  may  overcome  you." 

"  I  feel  no  fatigue  whatever."  Then,  looking  quickly  at 
those  present,  she  distended  her  nostrils,  and  said,  "  But  do 
not  think,  gentlemen,  that  I  fled  through  fear.  Oho  !  I  did 
not  even  dream  of  it.  As  I  love  Michael,  I  galloped  ahead 
of  them  only  for  sport,  and  then  I  fired  my  pistols." 

"  A  horse  was  struck  by  those  shots,  and  we  took  one 
robber  alive,"  put  in  Mellehovich. 

"  Arid  what  ?  "  asked  Basia.  "  Such  an  accident  may 
happen  any  one  in  galloping,  is  it  not  true  ?  No  experience 
will  save  one  from  that,  for  a  horse  will  slip  sometimes. 
Ha !  it  is  well  that  you  watched  me,  gentlejnen,  for  I  might 
have  lain  here  a  long  time." 

"  Pan  Mellehovich  saw  you  first,  and  first  saved  you ;  for 
we  were  galloping  behind  him,"  said  Volodyovski. 

Basia,  hearing  this,  turned  to  Mellehovich  and  reached 
her  hand  to  him.  "  I  thank  you  for  good  offices." 

He  made  no  answer,  only  pressed  the  hand  to  his  mouth, 
and  then  embraced  with  submission  her  feet,  like  a  peasant. 

Meanwhile  more  of  the  squadron  assembled  at  the  edge 
of  the  cleft;  Pan  Michael  simply  gave  orders  to  Melleho- 
vich to  form  a  circle  around  the  few  robbers  who  had 
hidden  from  pursuit,  and  then  started  for  Hreptyoff.  On 


228  PAN   MICHAEL. 

the  road  Basia  saw  the  field  of  battle  once  more  from  the 
height.  The  bodies  of  men  and  horses  lay  in  places  in 
piles,  in  places  singly.  Through  the  blue  sky  flocks  of 
ravens  were  approaching  more  and  more  numerously,  with 
great  cawing,  and  coming  down  at  a  distance,  waited  till 
the  soldiers,  still  going  about  on  the  plain,  should  depart. 

"  Here  are  the  soldiers'  gravediggers  !  "  said  Zagloba, 
pointing  at  the  birds  with  his  sabre  ;  "  let  us  only  go  away, 
and  wolves  will  come,  too,  with  their  orchestra,  and  will  ring 
with  their  teeth  over  these  dead  men.  This  is  a  notable 
victory,  though  gained  over  such  a  vile  enemy  ;  for  that 
Azba  has  ravaged  here  and  there  for  a  number  of  years. 
Commandants  have  hunted  him  like  a  wolf,  always  in  vain, 
till  at  last  he  met  Michael,'  and  the  black  hour  came  on 
him." 

"Is  Azba  Bey  killed?" 

"  Mellehovich  overtook  him  first ;  and  I  tell  you  if  he  did 
not  cut  him  over  the  ear  !  The  sabre  went  to  his  teeth." 

"  Mellehovich  is  a  good  soldier,"  said  Basia.  Here  she 
turned  to  Zagloba,  "  And  have  you  done  much  ?  " 

"  I  did  not  chirp  like  a  cricket,  nor  jump  like  a  flea,  for 
I  leave  such  amusement  to  insects.  But  if  I  did  not,  men 
did  not  look  for  me  among  moss,  like  mushrooms  ;  no  one 
pulled  my  nose,  and  no  one  touched  my  face." 

"  I  do  not  like  you ! "  said  Basia,  pouting,  and  reaching 
involuntarily  to  her  nose,  which  was  red. 

And  he  looked  at  her,  smiled,  and  muttered,  without 
ceasing  to  joke,  "  You  fought  valiantly,  you  fled  valiantly, 
you  went  valiantly  heels  over  head ;  and  now,  from  pain  in 
your  bones,  you  will  put  away  kasha  so  valiantly  that  we 
shall  be  forced  to  take  care  of  you,  lest  the  sparrows  eat 
you  up  with  your  valor,  for  they  are  very  fond  of  kasha." 

"You  are  talking  in  that  way  so  that  Michael  may  not 
take  me  on  another  expedition.  I  know  you  perfectly !  " 

"  But,  but  I  will  ask  him  to  take  you  nutting  always,  for 
you  are  skilful,  and  do  not  break  branches  under  you.  My 
God,  that  is  gratitude  to  me  !  And  who  persuaded  Michael 
to  let  you  go  ?  I.  I  reproach  myself  now  severely, 
especially  since  you  pay  me  so  for  my  devotion.  Wait ! 
you  will  cut  stalks  now  on  the  square  at  Hreptyoff  with  a 
wooden  sword !  Here  is  an  expedition  for  you  !  Another 
woman  would  hug  the  old  man;  but  this  scolding  Satan 
frightens  me  first,  and  threatens  me  afterward." 

Basia,  without  hesitating  long,  embraced  Zagloba,     He 


PAN  MICHAEL.  229 

was  greatly  delighted,  and  said,  "  Well,  well !  I  must  con- 
fess that  you  helped  somewhat  to  the  victory  of  to-day ;  for 
the  soldiers,  since  each  wished  to  exhibit  himself,  fought 
with  terrible  fury." 

"  As  true  as  I  live,"  cried  Pan  Mushalski,  "  a  man  is  not 
sorry  to  die  when  such  eyes  are  upon  him." 

"  Vivat  our  lady !  "  cried  Pan  ifyenashinyets. 

"Vivat!"  cried  a  hundred  voices. 

"  God  give  her  health  ! " 

Here  Zagloba  inclined  toward  her  and  muttered,  "  After 
faintness  ! " 

And  they  rode  forward  joyously,  shouting,  certain  of  a 
feast  in  the  evening.  The  weather  became  wonderful.  The 
trumpeters  played  in  the  squadrons,  the  drummers  beat 
their  drums,  and  all  entered  Hreptyoff  with  an  uproar. 


230  PAN   MICHAEL. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

BEYOND  every  expectation,  the  Volodyovskis  found  guests 
at  the  fortalice.  Pan  Bogush  had  come ;  he  had  determined 
to  fix  his  residence  at  Hreptyoff  for  some  months,  so  as  to 
treat  through  Mellehovich  with  the  Tartar  captains  Alek- 
sandrovich,  Moravski,  Tvorovski,  Krychinski,  and  others, 
either  of  the  Lithuanian  or  Ukraine  Tartars,  who  had  gone 
to  the  service  of  the  Sultan.  Pan  Bogush  was  accompanied 
also  by  old  Pan  Novoveski  and  his  daughter  Eva,  and  by 
Pani  Boski,  a  sedate  person,  with  her  daughter,  Panna 
Zosia,  who  was  young  yet,  and  very  beautiful.  The  sight  of 
ladies  in  the  Wilderness  and  in  wild  Hreptyoff  delighted, 
but  still  more  astonished,  the  soldiers.  The  guests,  too,  were 
surprised  at  sight  of  the  commandant  and  his  wife  ;  for 
the  first,  judging  from  his  extended  and  terrible  fame,  they 
imagined  to  be  some  kind  of  giant,  who  by  his  very  look 
would  terrify  people,  his  wife  as  a  giantess  with  brows 
ever  frowning  and  a  rude  voice.  Meanwhile  they  saw 
before  them  a  little  soldier,  with  a  kindly  and  friendly  face, 
and  also  a  tiny  woman,  rosy  as  a  doll,  who,  in  her  broad 
trousers  and  with  her  sabre,  seemed  more  like  a  beautiful 
boy  than  a  grown  person.  Xone  the  less  did  the  hosts 
receive  their  visitors  with  open  arms.  Basia  kissed  heartily, 
before  presentation,  the  three  women ;  when  they  told  who 
they  were,  and  whence  they  had  come,  she  said,  — 

"  I  should  rejoice  to  bend  the  heavens  for  you,  ladies,  and 
for  you,  gentlemen.  T  am  awfully  glad  to  see  you  !  It  is 
well  that  no  misfortune  has  met  you  on  the  road,  for  in  our 
desert,  you  see,  such  a  thing  is  not  difficult ;  but  this  very 
day  we  have  cut  the  ravagers  to  pieces." 

Seeing  then  that  Pani  Boski  was  looking  at  her  with  in- 
creasing astonishment,  she  struck  her  sabre,  and  added  with 
great  boastfulness,  l'  Ah,  but  I  was  in  the  fight !  Of  course 
I  was.  That 's  the  way  with  us  !  For  God's  sake,  permit 
me,  ladies,  to  go  out  and  put  on  clothing  proper  to  my  sex, 
and  wash  my  hands  from  blood  a  little ;  for  I  am  coming 
from  a  terrible  battle.  Oh,  if  we  had  n't  cut  down  Azba  to- 
day, perhaps  you  ladies  would  not  have  arrived  without 


PAN  MICHAEL.  231 

accident  at  Hreptyoff.  I  will  return  in  a  moment,  and 
Michael  will  be  at  your  service  meanwhile." 

She  vanished  through  the  door;  and  then  the  little  knight, 
who  had  greeted  Fan  Novoveski  already,  pushed  up  to 
Pani  Boski.  "  God  has  given  me  such  a  wife,"  said  he  to 
her,  "  that  she  is  not  only  a  loving  companion  in  the  house, 
but  can  be  a  valiant  comrade  in  the  field.  Now,  at  her 
command  I  offer  my  services  to  your  ladyship." 

"  May  God  bless  her  in  everything,"  answered  Pani 
Boski,  "as  He  has  blessed  her  in  beauty!  I  am  Antonia 
Boski ;  I  have  not  come  to  exact  services  from  your  grace, 
but  to  beg  on  my  knees  for  aid  and  rescue  in  misfortune. 
Zosia,  kneel  down  here  too  before  the  knight;  for  if  he 
cannot  help  us,  no  man  can." 

Pani  Boski  fell  on  her  knees  then,  and  the  comely  Zosia 
followed  her  example ;  both,  shedding  ardent  tears,  began 
to  cry,  "  Save  us,  knight !  Have  pity  on  orphans !  " 

A  crowd  of  officers,  made  curious,  drew  near  on  seeing 
the  kneeling  women,  and  especially  because  the  sight  of  the 
comely  Zosia  attracted  them  ;  the  little  knight,  greatly  con- 
fused, raised  Pani  Boski,  and  seated  her  on  a  bench.  "  In 
God's  name,"  asked  he,  "what  are  you  doing?  I  should 
kneel  first  before  a  worthy  woman.  Tell,  your  ladyship,  in 
what  I  can  render  assistance,  and  as  God  is  in  heaven,  I  will 
not  delay." 

"  He  will  do  what  he  promises  ;  I,  on  my  part,  offer 
myself !  Zagloba  sum !  it  is  enough  for  you  to  know 
that !  "  said  the  old  warrior,  moved  by  the  tears  of  the 
women. 

Then  Pani  Boski  beckoned  to  Zosia;  she  took  quickly 
from  her  bosom  a  letter,  which  she  gave  to  the  little  knight. 
He  looked  at  the  letter  and  said,  "  From  the  hetman ! " 
Then  he  broke  the  seal  and  began  to  read  :  — 

VERY  DEAR  AND  BELOVED  VOLODYOVSKI  !  —  I  send  from  the 
road  to  you,  through  Pan  Bogush,  my  sincere  love  and  instructions, 
which  Pan  Bogush  will  communicate  to  you  personally.  I  have 
barely  recovered  from  fatigues  in  Yavorov.  when  immediately  another 
affair  comes  up.  This  affair  is  very  near  my  heart,  because  of  the 
aiYeetion  which  I  bear  soldiers,  whom  if  I  forgot,  the  Lord  God 
would  forget  me.  Pan  Boski,  a  cavalier  of  great  honor  and  a  dear- 
comrade,  was  taken  by  the  hor<V  some  years  since,  near  Kamenyets. 
I  have  given  shelter  to  his  wife  and  daughter  in  Yavorov  ;  but  their 
hearts  are  weeping,  —  one  for  a  husband,  the  other  for  a  father.  I 
wrote  through  Pyotrovicl.  to  Pan  Zlotnitski,  our  Resident  in  the 


232  PAN  MICHAEL. 

Crimea,  to  look  for  Pan  Boski  everywhere.  They  found  him,  it 
seems ;  but  the  Tartars  hid  him  afterward,  therefore  he  could  not  be 
given  up  with  other  prisoners,  and  doubtless  is  rowing  in  a  galley  to 
this  time.  The  women,  despairing  and  hopeless,  have  ceased  to  im- 
portune me  ;  but  I,  on  returning  recently,  and  seeing  their  unappeased 
sorrow,  could  not  refrain  from  attempting  some  rescue.  You  are  near 
the  place,  and  have  concluded,  as  1  know,  brotherhood  with  many 
murzas.  I  send  the  ladies  to  you,  therefore,  and  do  you  give  them 
aid.  Pyotrovich  will  go  soon  to  the  Crimea.  Give  him  letters  to 
those  murzas  with  whom  you  are  in  brotherhood.  I  cannot  write  to 
the  vizir  or  the  Khan,  for  they  are  not  friendly  to  me ;  and  besides, 
I  fear  that  if  I  should  write,  they  would  consider  Boski  a  very  emi- 
nent person,  and  increase  the  ransom  beyond  measure.  Commend 
the  affair  urgently  to  Pyotrovich,  and  command  him  not  to  return 
without  Boski.  Stir  up  all  your  brothers;  though  Pagans,  they  ob- 
serve plighted  faith  always,  .and  must  have  great  respect  for  you. 
Finally,  do  what  you  please  ;  go  to  llashkoff  ;  promise  three  of  the 
most  considerable  Tartars  in  exchange,  if  they  return  Boski  alive. 
No  one  knows  better  than  you  all  their  methods,  for,  as  I  hear,  you 
have  ransomed  relatives  already.  God  bless  you,  and  I  will  love  you 
still  more,  for  my  heart  will  cease  to  bleed.  I  have  heard  of  your 
management  in  Hreptyoff,  that  it  is  quiet  there.  I  expected  this. 
Only  keep  watch  on  Azba.  Pan  Bogush  will  tell  you  all  about 
public  affairs.  For  God's  sake,  listen  carefully  in  the  direction  of 
Moldavia,  for  a  great  invasion  will  not  miss  us.  Committing  Pani 
Boski  to  your  heart  and  efforts,  1  subscribe  myself,  etc. 

Pani  Boski  wept  without  ceasing  during  the  reading  of 
the  letter ;  and  Zosia  accompanied  her,  raising  her  blue 
eyes  to  heaven.  Meanwhile,  and  before  Pan  Michael  had 
finished,  Basia  ran  in,  dressed  in  woman's  garments ;  and 
seeing  tears  in  the  eyes  of  the-  ladies,  began  to  inquire  with 
sympathy  what  the  matter  was.  Therefore  Pan  Michael 
read  the  hetman's  letter  for  her;  and  when  she  had  listened 
to  it  carefully,  she  supported  at  once  and  with  eagerness 
the  prayers  of  the  hetman  and  Pani  Boski. 

"  The  hetman  has  a  golden  heart,"  cried  Basia,  embracing 
her  husband;  "but  we  shall  not  show  a  worse  one,  Michael. 
Pani  Boski  will  stay  with  us  till  her  husband's  return,  and 
you  will  bring  him  in  three  months  from  the  Crimea.  In 
three  or  in  two,  is  it  not  true  ?  " 

"  Or  to-morrow,  or  in  an  hour  !  "  said  Pan  Michael,  ban- 
tering. Here  he  turned  to  Pani  Boski,  "  Decisions,  as  you 
"see,  are  quick  with  my  wife." 

"  May -God  bless  her  for  that ! "  said  Pani  Boski.  "  Zosia, 
kiss  the  hand  of  the  lady  commandress." 

But  the  lady  commandress  did  not  think  of  giving  her 


1'AN    MICHAEL.  233 

hands  to  be  kissed ;  she  embraced  Zosia  again,  for  in  some 
way  they  pleased  each  other  at  once.  "  Help  us,  gracious 
gentlemen,"  cried  she.  "  Help  us,  and  quickly  !  " 

"Quickly,  for  her  head  is  burning  !  "  muttered  Zagloba. 

But  Basia,  shaking  her  yellow  forelock,  said,  "  Not  my 
head,  but  the  hearts  of  those  gentlemen  are  burning  from 
sorrow." 

"  No  one  will  oppose  yOur  honest  intention,"  said  Pan 
Michael ;  "  but  first  we  must  hear  Pani  Boski's  story  in 
detail." 

"  Zosia,  tell  everything  *as  it  was,  for  I  cannot,  from 
tears,"  said  the  matron. 

Zosia  dropped  her  eyes  toward  the  floor,  covering  them 
entirely  with  the  lids ;  then  she  became  as  red  as  a  cherry, 
not  knowing  how  to  begin,  and  was  greatly  abashed  at 
having  to  speak  in  such  a  numerous  assembly. 

But  Basia  came  to  her  aid.  "  Zosia,  and  when  did  they 
take  Pan  Boski  captive  ?  " 

"  Five  years  ago,  in  1667,"  said  Zosia,  with  a  thin  voice, 
without  raising  the  long  lashes  from  her  eyes.  And  she 
began  in  one  breath  to  tell  the  story  :  "  There  were  no  raids 
to  be  heard  of  at  that  time,  and  papa's  squadron  was  near 
Panyovtsi.  Papa,  with  Pan  Bulayovski,  was  looking  after 
men  who  were  herding  cattle  in  the  meadows,  and  the  Tar- 
tars came  then  on  the  Wallachian  road,  and  took  papa,  with 
Pan  Bulayovski ;  but  Pan  Bulayovski  returned  two  years 
ago,  and  papa  has  not  returned." 

Here  two  tears  began  to  flow  down  Zosia's  cheeks,  so  that 
Zagloba  was  moved  at  sight  of  them,  and  said,  "  Poor  girl ! 
Do  not  fear,  child  ;  papa  will  return,  and  will  dance  yet  at 
your  wedding." 

"But  did  the  hetman  write  to  Pan  Zlotnitski  through 
Pyotrovich  ?  "  inquired  Volodyovski. 

"  The  hetman  wrote  about  papa  to  the  sword-bearer  of 
Poznan,"  recited  Zosia ;  "  and  the  sword-bearer  and  Pan 
Pyotrovich  found  papa  with  Aga  Murza  Bey." 

"  In  God's  name !  I  know  that  Murza  Bey.  I  was  in 
brotherhood  with  his  brother,"  said  Volodyovski.  "  Would 
he  not  give  up  Pan  Boski  ?  " 

"  There  was  a  command  of  the  Khan  to  give  up  papa ;  but 
Murza  Bey  is  severe,  cruel.  He  hid  papa,  and  told  Pan  Pyot- 
rovich that  he  had  sold  him  long  before  into  Asia.  I'.ut 
other  captives  told  Pan  Pyotrovich  that  that  was  not  true, 
and  that  the  murza  only-  said  that  purposely,  so  that  he 


234  PAN  MICHAEL. 

might  abuse  papa  longer;  for  he  is  the  cruellest  of  all  the 
Tartars  toward  prisoners.  Perhaps  papa  was  not  in  the 
Crimea  then ;  for  the  murza  has  his  own  galleys,  and  needs 
men  for  rowing.  But  papa  was  not  sold ;  all  the  prisoners 
said  that  the  murza  would  rather  kill  a  prisoner  than  sell 
him." 

" Holy  truth !"  said  Pan  Mushalski.  "They  know  that 
Murza  Bey  in  the  whole  Crimea.  He  is  a  very  rich  Tartar, 
but  wonderfully  venomous  against  our  people,  for  four 
brothers  of  his  fell  in  campaigns  against  us." 

"  But  has  he  never  formed  brotherhood  among  our 
people  ?  "  asked  Pan  Michael. 

"  It  is  doubtful ! "  answered  the  officers  from  every  side. 

"Tell  me  once  what  that  brotherhood  is,"  said  Basia. 

"  You  see,"  said  Zagloba,  "  when  negotiations  are  begun 
at  the  end  of  war,  men  from  both  armies  visit  one  another 
and  enter  into  friendship.  It  happens  then  that  an  officer 
inclines  to  himself  a  murza,  and  a  murza  an  officer;  then 
they  vow  to  each  other  life-friendship,  which  they  call 
brotherhood.  The  more  famous  a  man  is,  as  Michael,  for 
instance,  or  I,  or  Pan  Rushchyts,  who  holds  command  in  .Kash- 
koff  now,  the  more  is  his  brotherhood  sought.  It  is  clear 
that  such  a  man  will  not  conclude  brotherhood  with  some 
common  fellow,  but  will  seek  it  only  among  the  most  re- 
nowned murzas.  The  custom  is  this,  —  they  pour  water 
on  their  sabres  and  swear  mutual  friendship ;  do  you 
understand  ?  " 

"  And  how  if  it  comes  to  war  afterward  ?  " 

"  They  can  fight  in  a  general  war  ;  but  if  they  meet  alone, 
if  they  are  attacking  as  skirmishers,  they  will  greet  each 
other,  and  depart  in  friendship.  Also  if  one  of  them  falls 
into  captivity,  the  other  is  bound  to  alleviate  it,  and  in  the 
worst  case  to  ransom  him ;  indeed,  there  have  been  some 
who  shared  their  property  with  brothers.  When  it  is  a 
question  of  friends  or  acquaintances,  or  of  finding  some 
one,  brothers  go  to  brothers ;  and  justice  commands  us  to 
acknowledge  that"  no  people  observe  siich  oaths  better  than 
the  Tartars.  The  word  is  the  main  thing  with  them,  and 
such  a  friend  you  can  trust  certainly." 

"  But  has  Michael  many  such  ?  " 

"  I  have  three  powerful  murzas,"  answered  Volodyovski ; 
"and  one  of  them  is  from  Lubni  times.  Once  I  begged 
him  of  Prince  Yeremi.  Aga  Bey  is  his  name ;  and  even 
now,  if  he  had  to  lay  his  head  down  for  me,  he  would  lay 
it  down.  The  other  two  are  equally  reliable." 


PAN   MICHAEL.  235 

"Ah,"  said  Basia,  "I  should  like  to  conclude  brother- 
hood with  the  Khan  himself,  and  free  all  the  prisoners." 

"  He  would  not  be  averse  to  that,"  said  Zagloba ;  "  but  it 
is  not  known  what  reward  he  would  ask  of  you." 

"Permit  me,  gentlemen,"  -said  Pan  Michael;  "let  us 
consider  what  we  ought  to  do.  Now  listen ;  we  have  news 
from  Kamenyets  that  in  two  weeks  at  the  furthest  Pyotro- 
vich  will  be  here  with  a  numerous  escort.  He  will  go 
to  the  Crimea  with  ransom  for  a  number  of  Armenian 
merchants  from  Kamenyets,  who  at  the  change  of  the 
Khan  were  plundered  and  taken  captive.  That  happened 
to  Seferovich,  the  brother  of  Pretor.  All  those  people  are 
very  wealthy  ;  they  will  not  spare  money,  and  Pyotrovich 
will  go  well  provided.  No  danger  threatens  him  ;  for,  first, 
winter  is  near,  and  it  is  not  the  time  for  chambuls,  and, 
secondly,  with  him  are  going  Naviragh,  the  delegate  of  the 
Patriarch  of  Echmiadzin,  and  the  two  Anardrats  from 
Kaffa,  who  have  a  safe-conduct  from  the  young  Khan.  I 
will  give  letters  to  Pyotrovich  to  the  residents  of  the  Com- 
monwealth and  to  my  brothers.  Besides,  it  is  known  to 
you,  gentlemen,  that  Pan  Rushchyts,  the  commandant  at 
Kashkoff,  has  relatives  in  the  horde,  who,  taken  captive  in 
childhood,  have  become  thoroughly  Tartar,  and  have  risen 
to  dignities.  All  these  will  move  earth  and  heaven,  will  try 
negotiations ;  in  case  of  stubbornness  on  the  part  of  the 
inurza,  they  will  rouse  the  Khan  himself  against  him,  or 
perhaps  they  will  twist  the  murza's  head  somewhere  in 
secret.  I  hope,  therefore,  that  if,  which  God  grant,  Pan 
Boski  is  alive,  I  shall  get  him  in  a  couple  of  .months  with- 
out fail,  as  the  hetman  commands,  and  my  immediate 
superior  here  present "  (at  this  Pan  Michael  bowed  to 
his  wife). 

His  immediate  superior  sprang  to  embrace  the  little 
knight  the  second  time.  Pani  and  Panna  Boski  clasped 
their  hands,  thanking  God,  who  had  permitted  them  to 
meet  such  kindly  people,  tjoth  became  notably  cheerful, 
therefore. 

"  If  the  old  Khan  were  alive,"  said  Pan  Nyenashinyets, 
"  all  would  go  more  smoothly  ;  for  he  was  greatly  devoted  to 
us,  and  of  the  young  one  they  say  the  opposite.  In  fact,  those 
Armenian  merchants  for  whom  Pan  Pyotrovich  is  to  go, 
were  imprisoned  in  Bagchesarai  itself  during  the  time  of 
the  young  Khan,  and  probably  at  his  command." 

"  There  will  be  a  change  in  the  young,  as  there  was  in 


236  PAN  MICHAEL. 

the  old  Khan,  who,  before  he  convinced  himself  of  our 
honesty,  was  the  most  inveterate  enemy  of  the  Polish 
name,"  said  Zagloba.  "  I  know  this  best,  for  I  was  seven 
years  under  him  in  captivity.  Let  the  sight  of  me  give 
comfort  to  your  ladyship,"  continued  he,  taking  a  seat  near 
Pani  Boski.  "  Seven  years  is  no  joke  ;  and  still  I  returned 
and  crushed  so  many  of  those  dog  brothers  that  for  each 
day  of  my  captivity  I  sent  at  least  two  of  them  to  hell  ;  and 
for  Sundays  and  holidays  who  knows  if  there  will  not  be 
three  or  four  ?  Ha  ! " 

"  Seven  years  ! "  repeated  Pani  Boski,  with  a  sigh. 

"  May  I  die  if  I  add  a  day  !  Seven  years  in  the  very 
palace  of  the  Khan,"  confirmed  Zagloba,  blinking  myste- 
riously. "And  you  must  know  that  that  young  Khan  is 
my  —  "  Here  he  whispered  something  in  the  ear  of  Pani 
Boski,  burst  into  a  loud  "  Ha,  ha,  ha ! "  and  began  to  stroke 
his  knees  with  his  palms ;  finally  he  slapped  Pani  Boski's 
knees,  and  said,  "  They  were  good  times,  were  they  not  ? 
In  youth  every  man  you  met  was  an  enemy,  and  every  day 
a  new  prank,  ha  !  " 

The  sedate  matron  became  greatly  confused,  and  pushed 
back  somewhat  from  the  jovial  knight ;  the  younger  women 
dropped  their  eyes,  divining  easily  that  the  pranks  of  which 
Pan  Zagloba  was  talking  must  be  something  opposed  to 
their  native  modesty,  especially  since  the  soldiers  burst  into 
loud  laughter. 

"  It  will  be  needful  to  send  to  Pan  Rushchyts  at  once," 
said  Basia,  "so  that  Pan  Pyotrovich  may  find  the  letters 
ready  in  Rashkoff." 

"  Hasten  with  the  whole  affair,"  added  Pan  Bogush, 
"  while  it  is  winter :  for,  first,  no  chambuls  come  out,  and 
roads  are  safe ;  secondly,  in  the  spring  God  knows  what  may 
happen." 

"  Has  the  hetinan  news  from  Tsargrad  ?  "  inquired  Volo- 
dyovski. 

"  He  has  ;  and  of  this  we  must  talk  apart.  It  is  neces- 
sary to  finish  quickly  with  those  captains.  When  will 
Mellehovich  come  back  ?  —  for  much  depends  on  him." 

"  He  has  only  to  destroy  the  rest  of  the  ravagers,  and 
afterward  bury  the  dead.  He  ought  to  return  to-day  or 
to-morrow  morning.  I  commanded  him  to  bury  only  our 
men,  not  Azba's  ;  for  winter  is  at  hand,  and  there  is  no 
danger  of  infection.  Besides,  the  wolves  will  clear  them 
away." 


PAN   MICHAEL.  237 

"  The  hetman  asks,"  said  Pan  Bogush,  "  that  Mellehovich 
should  have  no  hindrance  in  his  work  ;  as  often  as  he  wishes 
to  go  to  Rashkoff,  let  him  go.  The  hetman  asks,  too,  to  trust 
him  in  everything,  for  he  is  certain  of  his  devotion.  He  is 
a  great  soldier,  and  may  do  us  much  good." 

"  Let  him  go  to  Rashkoff  and  whithersoever  he  pleases," 
said  the  little  knight.  "  Since  we  have  destroyed  Azba,  I 
have  no  urgent  need  of  him.  No  large  band  will  appear 
now  till  the  first  grass." 

"  Is  Azba  cut  to  pieces  then  ?  "  inquired  Novoveski. 

"  So  cut  up  that  I  do  not  know  if  twenty-five  men  escaped ; 
and  even  those  will  be  caught  one  by  one,  if  Mellehovich 
has  not  caught  them  already." 

"  I  am  terribly  glad  of  this,"  said  Novoveski,  "  for  now  it 
will  be  possible  to  go  to  Rashkol?  in  safety."  Here  he 
turned  to  Basia :  "  We  can  take  to  Pan  Rushchyts  the 
letters  which  her  grace,  our  benefactress,  has  mentioned." 

"  Thank  you,"  answered  Basia ;  "  there  are  occasions  here 
continually,  for  men  are  sent  expressly." 

"  All  the  commands  must  maintain  communication,"  said 
Pan  Michael.  "  But  are  you  going  to  Rashkoff,  indeed,  with 
this  young  beauty  ?  " 

"  Oh,  this  is  an  ordinary  puss,  not  a  beauty,  gracious 
benefactor,"  said  Novoveski ;  "  and  I  am  going  to  Rash- 
koff, for  my  son,  the  rascal,  is  serving  there  under  the 
banner  of  Pan  Rushchyts.  It  is  nearly  ten  years  since  he 
ran  away  from  home,  and  knocks  at  my  fatherly  clemency 
only  with  letters." 

"  I  guessed  at  once  that  you  were  Pan  Adam's  father,  and 
I  was  about  to  inquire ;  but  we  were  so  taken  up  with  sor- 
row for  Pani  Boski.  I  guessed  it  at  once,  for  there  is  a 
resemblance  in  features.  Well,  then,  he  is  your  son  ?  " 

"  So  his  late  mother  declared  ;  and  as  she  was  a  virtuous 
woman,  I  have  no  reason  for  doubt." 

"  I  am  doubly  glad  to  have  such  a  guest  as  you.  For 
God's  sake,  but  do  not  call  your  son  a  rascal ;  for  he  is  a 
famous  soldier,  and  a  worthy  cavalier,  who  brings  the  high- 
est honor  to  your  grace.  Do  you  not  know  that,  after  Pan 
Rushchyts,  he  is  the  best  partisan  in  the  squadron  ?  Do 
you  not  know  that  he  is  an  eye  in  the  head  of  the  hetman  ? 
Independent  commands  are  intrusted  to  him,  and  he  has 
fulfilled  every  function  with  incomparable  credit." 

Pan  Novovoski  flushed  from  delight.  "Gracious  Colo- 
nel," said  he,  "  more  than  once  a  father  blames  his  child  only 


238  PAN  MICHAEL. 

to  let  some  one  deny  what  he  says ;  and  I  think  that  't  is 
impossible  to  please  a  parent's  heart  more  than  by  such  a 
denial.  Reports  have  reached  me  already  of  Adam's  good 
service ;  but  I  am  really  comforted  now  for  the  first  time, 
when  I  hear  these  reports  confirmed  by  such  renowned  lips. 
They  say  that  he  is  not  only  a  manful  soldier,  but  steady, 
—  which  is  even  a  wonder  to  me,  for  he  was  always  a 
whirlwind.  The  rogue  had  a  love  for  war  from  youth  up- 
ward ;  and  the  best  proof  of  this  is  that  he  ran  away  from 
home  as  a  boy.  If  I  could  have  caught  him  at  that  time,  I 
would  not  have  spared  him.  But  now  I  must  spare  him ;  if 
not,  he  would  hide  for  ten  other  years,  and  it  is  dreary  for 
me,  an  old  man,  without  him." 

"  And  has  he  not  been  home  during  so  many  years  ?  " 

"  He  has  not ;  I  forbade  him.  But  I  have  had  enough  of 
it,  and  now  I  go  to  him,  since  he,  being  in  service,  cannot 
come  to  me.  I  intended  to  ask  of  you  and  my  benefactress 
a  refuge  for  this  maiden  while  I  went  to  Rashkoff  alone  ; 
but  since  you  say  that  it  is  safe  everywhere,  I  will  take  her. 
She  is  curious,  the  magpie,  to  see  the  world.  Let  her  look 
at  it." 

"  And  let  people  look  at  her,"  put  in  Zagloba. 

"Ah,  they  would  have  nothing  to  see,"  said  the  young 
lady,  out  of  whose  dark  eyes  and  mouth,  fixed  as  if  for  a 
kiss,  something  quite  different  was  speaking. 

"  An  ordinary  puss,  —  nothing  more  than  a  puss  !  "  said 
Pan  Novoveski.  "  But  if  she  spes  a  handsome  officer, 
something  may  happen  ;  therefore  I  chose  to  bring  her  with 
me  rather  than  leave  her,  especially  as  it  is  dangerous  for  a 
girl  at  home  alone.  But  if  I  go  without  her  to  Rashkoff, 
then  let  her  grace  give  command  to  tie  her  with  a  cord,  or 
she  will  play  pranks." 

"  I  was  no  better  myself,"  said  Basia. 

"They  gave  her  a  distaff  to  spin,"  said  Zagloba;  "but 
she  danced  with  it,  since  she  had  no  one  better  to  dance 
with.  But  you  are  a  jovial  man.  Basia,  I  should  like  to 
have  an  encounter  with  Pan  Novoveski,  for  I  also  am  fond 
of  amusement  at  times." 

Meanwhile,  before  supper  was  served,  the  door  opened, 
and  Mellehovich  entered.  Pan  Novoveski  did  not  notice 
him  at  once,  for  he  was  talking  with  Zagloba ;  but  Eva 
saw  him,  and  a  flame  struck  her  face ;  then  she  grew  pale 
suddenly. 

"  Pan  Commandant,"  said  Mellehovich  to  Pan  Michael, 
"according  to  order,  those  men  were  caught." 


PAN   MICHAEL  239 

«  Well,  where  are  they  ?  " 

"  According  to  order,  I  had  them  hanged." 

"  Well  done  !     And  have  your  men  returned  ?  " 

"A  part  remained  to  bury  the  bodies;  the  rest  are  with 
me." 

At  this  moment  Pan  Novoveski  raised  his  head,  and 
great  astonishment  was  reflected  on  his  face.  "  In  God's 
name,  what  do  I  see  ? "  cried  he.  Then  he  rose,  went 
straight  to  Mellehovich,  and  said,  "Azya!  And  what  art 
thoii  doing  here,  ruffian  ?  " 

He  raised  his  hand  to  seize  the  Tartar  by  the  collar;  but 
in  Mellehovich  there  was  such  an  outburst  in  one  moment 
as  there  is  when  a  man  throws  a  handful  of  powder  into  fire ; 
he  grew  pale  as  a  corpse,  and  seizing  with  iron  grasp  the 
hand  of  Novoveski,  he  said,  "  I  do  not  know  you  !  Who 
are  you  ?  "  and  pushed  him  so  violently  that  Novoveski 
staggered  to  the  middle  of  the  room.  For  some  time  he 
could  not  utter  a  word  from  rage ;  but  regaining  breath, 
began  to  cry, — 

"  Gracious  Commandant,  this  is  my  man,  and  besides  that, 
a  runaway.  He  was  in  my  house  from  childhood.  The 
ruffian  denies  !  He  is  my  man  !  Eva,  who  is  he  ?  Tell." 

"  Azya,"  said  Eva,  trembling  in  all  her  body. 

Mellehovich  did  not  even  look  at  her.  With  eyes  fixed 
on  Novoveski,  and  with  quivering  nostril,  he  looked  at  the 
old  noble  with  unspeakable  hatred,  pressing  with  his  hand 
the  handle  of  his  knife.  At  the  same  time  his  mustaches 
began  to  quiver  from  the  movement  of  his  nostrils,  and 
from  under  those  mustaches  white  teeth  were  gleaming, 
like  those  of  an  angry  wild  beast. 

The  officers  stood  in  a  circle;  Basia  sprang  in  between 
Mellehovich  and  Novoveski. '  "  What  does  this  mean  ?  " 
asked  she,  frowning. 

"  Pan  Commandant,"  said  Novoveski,  "  this  is  my  man, 
Azya  by  name,  and  a  runaway.  Serving  in  youthful  years 
in  the  Crimea,  I  found  him  half-alive  on  the  steppe,  and  I 
took  him.  He  is  a  Tartar.  He  remained  twelve  years  in 
my  house,  and  was  taught  together  with  my  son.  When 
my  son  ran  away,  this  one  helped  me  in  management  until 
he  wished  to  make  love  to  Eva ;  seeing  this,  I  had  him 
flogged :  he  ran  away  after  that.  What  is  his  name 
here  ?  " 

"  Mellehovich." 

"  He  has   assumed   that    name.     He   is  called   Azya,  — 


240  PAN  MICHAEL. 

nothing  more.  He  says  that  he  does  not  know  me ;  but  1 
know  him,  and  so  does  Eva." 

"  Your  grace's  son  has  seen  him  many  times,"  said  Basia. 
"  Why  did  not  he  know  him  ?  " 

"My  son  might  not  know  him;  for  when  he  ran  away 
from  home,  both  were  fifteen  years  old,  and  this  one 
remained  six  years  with  me  afterward,  during  which  time 
he  changed  considerably,  grew,  and  got  mustaches.  But 
Eva  knew  him  at  once.  Gracious  hosts,  you"  will  lend 
belief  more  quickly  to  a  citizen  than  to  this  accident 
from  the  Crimea  !  " 

"  Pan  Mellehovich  is  an  officer  of  the  hetman,"  said 
Basia ;  "  we  have  nothing  to  do  with  him." 

"Permit  me;  I  will  ask  him.  Let  the  other  side  be 
heard,"  said  the  little  knight. 

But  Pan  Novoveski  was  furious.  "  Pan  Mellehovich  ! 
What  sort  of  a  Pan  is  he  ?  —  My  serving-lad,  who  has 
hidden  himself  under  a  strange  name.  To-morrow  I  '11 
make  my  dog  keeper  of  that  Pan  ;  the  day  after  to-morrow 
I  '11  give  command  to  beat  that  Pan  with  clubs.  And  the 
hetman  himself  cannot  hinder  me ;  for  I  am  a  noble,  and  I 
know  my  rights." 

To  this  Pan  Michael  answered  more  sharply,  and  his 
mustaches  quivered.  "  I  am  not  only  a  noble,  but  a  colonel, 
and  I  know  my  rights  too.  You  can  demand  your  man, 
by  law,  and  have  recourse  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  het- 
man ;  but  I  command  here,  and  no  one  else  does." 

Pan  Novoveski  moderated  at  once,  remembering  that  he 
was  talking,  not  only  to  a  commandant,  but  to  his  own  son's 
superior,  and  besides  the  most  noted  knight  in  the  Common- 
wealth. "  Pan  Colonel,"  said_he,  in  a  milder  tone,  "  I  will 
not  take  him  against  the  will'  of  your  grace ;  but  I  bring 
forward  my  rights,  and  I  beg  you  to  believe  me." 

"  Mellehovich,  what  do  you  say  to  this  ? "  asked  Vo- 
lodyovski. 

The  Tartar  fixed  his  eyes  on  the  floor,  and  was  silent. 

"  That  your  name  is  Azya  we  all  know,  "  added  Pan 
Michael. 

"  There  are  other  proofs  to  seek,"  said  Novoveski.  "  If 
he  is  my  man,  he  has  fish  tattooed  in  blue  on  his  breast." 

Hearing  this,  Pan  Nyenashinyets  opened  his  eyes  widely 
and  his  mouth ;  then  he  seized  himself  by  the  head,  and 
cried,  "  Azya,  Tugai  Beyovich  !  " 

All  eyes  were  turned  on  him ;  he  trembled  throughout  his 


PAN    MICIIAKL.  241 

whole  body,  as  if  all  his  wounds  were  reopened,  and  he 
repeated,  "  That  is  my  captive  !  That  is  Tugai  Bey's  son. 
As  God  lives,  it  is  he." 

But  the  young  Tartar  raised  his  head  proudly,  cast  his 
wild-cat  glance  on  the  assembly,  and  pulling  open  suddenly 
the  clothes  on  his  bosom,  said,  "  Here  are  the  fish  tattooed 
in  blue.  I  am  the  son  of  Tugai  Bey  !  " 

16 


242  PAN  MICHAEL. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

ALL  were  silent,  so  great  was  the  impression  which  the 
name  of  the  terrible  warrior  had  made.  Tugai  Bey  was 
the  man  who,  in  company  with  the  dreadful  Hmelnitski, 
had  shaken  the  entire  Commonwealth ;  he  had  shed  a  whole 
sea  of  Polish  blood  ;  he  had  trampled  the  Ukraine,  Volynia, 
Podolia,  and  the  lands  of  Galicia  with  the  hoofs  of  horses ; 
had  destroyed  castles  and  towns,  had  visited  villages  with 
fire,  had  taken  tens  of  thousands  of  people  captive.  The 
son  of  such  a  man  was  now  there  before  the  assembly  in 
the  stanitsa  of  Hreptyoff,  and  said  to  the  eyes  of  people : 
"  I  have  blue  fish  on  my  breast ;  I  am  Azya,  bone  of  the 
bone  of  Tugai  Bey."  But  such  was  the  honor  among 
people  of  that  time  for  famous  blood  that  in  spite  of  the 
terror  which  the  name  of  the  celebrated  murza  must  have 
called  forth  in  the  soul  of  each  soldier,  Mellehovich  in- 
creased in  their  eyes  as  if  he  had  taken  on  himself  the 
whole  greatness  of  his  father. 

They  looked  on  him  with  wonderment,  especially  the 
women,  for  whom  every  mystery  becomes  the  highest 
charm ;  he  too,  as  if  he  had  increased  in  his  own  eyes 
through  his  confession,  grew  haughty  :  he  did  not  drop  his 
head  a  whit,  but-  said  in  conclusion,  — 

"  That  noble  "  —  here  he  pointed  at  Novoveski  —  "  says 
I  am  his  man  ;  but  this  is  my  reply  to  him  :  '  My  father 
mounted  his  steed  from  the  backs  of  men  better  than  you.' 
He  says  truly  also  that  I  was  with  him,  for  I  was,  and 
under  his  rods  my  back  streamed  with  blood,  which  I  shall 
not  forget,  so  help  me  God !  I  took  the  name  of  Melle- 
hovich to  escape  his  pursuit.  But  now,  though  I  might 
have  gone  to  the  Crimea,  I  am  serving  this  fatherland 
with  my  blood  and  health,  and  I  am  under  no  one  but  the 
hetman.  My  father  was  a  relative  of  the  Khan,  and  in  the 
Crimea  wealth  and  luxury  were  waiting  for  me  ;  but  I 
remained  here  in  contempt,  for  I  love  this  fatherland, 
I  love  the  hetman,  and  I  love  those  who  have  never 
disdained  me." 

When  he  had  said  this,  he  bowed  to  Volodyovski,  bowed 
so  low  before  Basia  that  his  head  almost  touched  her  knees  ; 


PAN  MICHAEL.  243 

then,  without  looking  on  any  one  again,  he  took  his  sabre 
under  his  arm,  and  walked  out. 

For  a  time  yet  silence  continued.  Zagloba  spoke  first. 
"  Ha  !  Where  is  Pan  Snitko  !  But  I  said  that  a  wolf  was 
looking  out  of  the  eyes  of  that  Azya ;  and  he  is  the  son  of 
a  wolf ! " 

"  The  son  of  a  lion ! "  said  Volodyovski ;  "  and  who 
knows  if  he  has  n't  taken  after  his  father  ?  " 

"  As  God  lives,  gentlemen,  did  you  notice  how  his  teeth 
glittered,  just  like  those  of  old  Tugai  when  he  was  in  anger  ?  " 
said  Pan  Mushalski.  "  By  that  alone  I  should  have  known 
him,  for  I  saw  old  Tugai  often." 

"Not  so  often  as  I,"  said  Zagloba: 

"Now  I  understand,"  put  in  Bogush,  "why  he  is  so  much 
esteemed  among  the  Tartars  of  Lithuania  and  the  South. 
And  they  remember  Tugai's  name  as  sacred.  By  the  living 
God,  if  that  man  had  the  wish,  he  might  take  every  Tartar 
to  the  Sultan's  service,  and  cause  us  a  world  of  trouble." 

"  He  will  not  do  that,"  answered  Pan  Michael,  "  for  what 
he  has  said  —  that  he  loves  the  country  and  the  hetman  — 
is  true;  otherwise  he  would  not  be  serving  among  us,  being 
able  to  go  to  the  Crimea  and  swim  there  in  everything. 
He  has  not  known  luxury  with  us." 

."He  will  not  go  to  the  Crimea,"  said  Pan  Bogush,  "  for 
if  he  had  had  the  wish,  he  could  have  done  so  already,;  he 
met  no  hindrance." 

"  On  the  contrary,"  added  Nyenashinyets,  "  I  believe  now 
that  he  will  entice  back  all  those  traitorous  captains  to  the 
Commonwealth  again." 

"  Pan  Novoveski,"  said  Zagloba,  suddenly,  "  if  you  had 
known  that  he  was  the  son  of  Tugai  Bey,  perhaps  then  — 
perhaps  so  —  what  ?  " 

"  I  should  have  commanded  to  give  him,  instead  of  three 
hundred,  three  thousand  blows.  May  the  thunderbolts 
shatter  me  if  I  would  not  have  done  so !  Gracious  gen- 
tlemen, it  is  a  wonder  to  me  that  he,  being  Tugai  Bey's 
whelp,  did  not  run  off  to  the  Crimea.  It  must  be  that  he 
discovered  this  only  recently ;  for  when  with  me  he  knew 
nothing  about  it.  This  is  a  wonder  to  me,  I  tell  you  it  is ; 
but  for  God's  sake,  do  not  trust  him.  I  know  him,  gentle- 
men, longer  than  you  do ;  and  I  will  tell  you  only  this  much : 
the  devil  is  not  so  slippery,  a  mad  dog  is  not  so  irritable,  a 
wolf  is  less  malignant  and  cruel,  than  that  man.  He  will 
pour  tallow  under  the  skins  of  you  all  yet." 


244  PAN  MICHAEL. 

"  What  are  you  talking  about  ?  "  asked  Mushalski.  "  We 
have  seen  him  in  action  at  Kalnik,  at  Uinan,  at  Bratslav, 
and  in  a  hundred  other  emergencies." 

'*  He  will  not  forget  his  own ;  he  will  have  vengeance," 
said  Novoveski. 

"  But  to-day  he  slew  Azba's  ravagers.  What  are  you 
telling  us  ?  " 

Meanwhile  Basia  was  all  on  fire,  that  history  of  Melle- 
hovich  occupied  her  so  much ;  but  she  was  anxious  that  the 
end  should  be  worthy  of  the  beginning ;  therefore,  shaking 
Eva  Novoveski,  she  whispered  in  her  ear,  "  But  you  loved 
him,  Eva  ?  Own  up ;  don't  deny !  You  loved  him.  You 
love  him  yet,  do  you  not  ?  I  am  sure  you  do.  Be  out- 
spoken with  me.  In  whom  can  you  confide,  if  not  in  me,  a 
woman  ?  There  is  almost  royal  blood  in  him.  The  hetman 
will  get  him,  not  one,  but  ten  naturalizations.  Pan  Novo- 
veski will  not  oppose.  Undoubtedly  Azya  himself  loves 
you  yet.  I  know  already  ;  I  know,  I  know.  Never  fear. 
He  has  confidence  in  me.  I  will  put  the  question  to  him 
at  once.  He  will  tell  me  without  torture.  You  loved 
him  terribly ;  you  love  him  yet,  do  you  not  ?  " 

Eva  was  as  if  dazed.  When  Azya  showed  his  inclination 
to  her  the  first  time,  she  was  almost  a  child  ;  after  that  she 
did  not  see  him  for  a  number  of  years,  and  had  ceased  to 
think  of  him.  There  remained  with  her  the  remembrance 
of  him  as  a  passionate  stripling,  who  was  half  comrade  to 
her  brother,  and  half  serving-lad.  But  now  she  saw  him 
again ;  he  stood  before  her  a  handsome  hero  and  fierce  as  a 
falcon,  a  famous  warrior,  and,  besides,  the  son  of  a  foreign, 
it  is  true,  but  princely,  stock.  Therefore  young  Azya  seemed 
to  her  altogether  different ;  therefore  the  sight  of  him 
stunned  her,  and  at  the  time  dazzled  and  charmed  her. 
Memories  of  him  appeared  before  her  as  in  a  dream.  Her 
heart  could  not  love  the  young  man  in  one  moment,  but  in 
one  moment  she  felt  in  it  an  agreeable  readiness  to  love 
him. 

Basia,  unable  to  question  her  to  the  end,  took  her,  with 
Zosia  Boski,  to  an  alcove,  and  began  again  to  insist,  "  Eva, 
tell  me  quickly,  awfully  quickly,  do  you  love  him  ?  " 

A  flame  beat  into  the  face  of  Eva.  She  was  a  dark-haired 
and  dark-eyed  maiden,  with  hot  blood ;  and  that  blood  flew 
to  her  cheeks  at  any  mention  of  love. 

"  Eva,"  repeated  Basia,  for  the  tenth  time,  "  do  you  love 
him  ?  " 


i  AN   MICHAEL. 

"  I  do  not  know,"  answered  Eva,  after  a  moment's  hesi- 
tation. 

'•  .But  you  don't  deny  ?  Oho  !  I  know.  Do  not  hesitate. 
I  told  Michael  first  that  I  loved  him,  —  no  harm  !  and  it 
was  well.  You  must  have  loved  each  other  terribly,  this 
long  time.  Ha !  I  understand  now.  It  is  from  yearning 
for  you  that  he  has  always  been  so  gloomy ;  he  went  around 
like  a  wolf.  The  poor  soldier  withered  away  almost.  What 
passed  between  you  ?  Tell  me." 

"  He  told  me  in  the  storehouse  that  he  loved  me,"  whis- 
pered Eva. 

"  In  the  storehouse !     What  then  ?  " 

"  Then  he  caught  me  and  began  to  kiss  me,"  continued 
she,  in  a  still  lower  voice. 

"Maybe  I  don't  know  him,  that  Mellehovich !  And 
what  did  you  do  ?  " 

"  I  was  afraid  to  scream." 

"  Afraid  to  scream  !  Zosia,  do  you  hear  that  ?  When 
was  your  loving  found  out  ?  " 

"  Father  came  in,  and  struck  him  on  the  spot  with  a 
hatchet ;  then  he  whipped  me,  and  gave  orders  to  flog  him 
so  severely  that  he  was  a  fortnight  in  bed." 

Here  Eva  began  to  cry,  partly  from  sorrow,  and'  partly 
from  confusion.  At  sight  of  this,  the  dark-blue  eyes  of  the 
sensitive  Zosia  filled  with  tears,  then  Basia  began  to  com- 
fort Eva.  "All  will  be  well,  my  head  on  that !  And  I  will 
harness  Michael  into  the  work,  and  Pan  Zagloba.  I  will 
persuade  them,  never  fear.  Against  the  wit  of  Pan  Zagloba 
nothing  can  stand ;  you  do  not  know  him.  Don't  cry,  Eva 
dear,  it  is  time  for  supper." 

Mellehovich  Avas  not  at  supper.  He  was  sitting  in  his 
own  room,  warming  at  the  fire  gorailka  and  mead,  which  he 
poured  into  a  smaller  cup  afterward  and  drank,  eating  at 
the  same  time  dry  biscuits.  Pan  Bogush  came  to  him  late 
in  the  evening  to  talk  over  news. 

The  Tartar  seated  him  at  once  on  a  chair  lined  with 
sheepskin,  and  placing  before  him  a  pitcher  of  hot  drink, 
inquired,  "  But  does  Pan  Novoveski  still  wish  to  make 
me  his  slave  ?  " 

"There  is  no  longer  any  talk  of  that,"  answered  the 
under-stolnik  of  Novgrod.  "  Pan  Nyenashinyets  ini^ht 
claim  you  first;  but  he  cares  nothing  for  you,  since  his 
sister  is  already  either  dead,  or  does  not  wish  any  change 
in  her  fate.  Pan  Novoveski  did  not  know  who  you  were 


246  PAS!   MICHAEL. 

when  he  punished  you  for  intimacy  with  his  daughter 
Now  he  is  going  around  like  one  stunned,  for  though  yom 
father  brought  a  world  of  evil  on  this  country,  he  was  a  re- 
nowned warrior,  and  blood  is  always  blood.  As  God  lives, 
no  one  will  raise  a  finger  here  while  you  serve  the  country 
faithfully,  especially  as  you  have  friends  on  all  sides." 

"Why  should  I  not  serve  faithfully ?"  answered  Azya. 
"  My  father  fought  against  you ;  but  he  was  a  Pagan,  while 
I  profess  Christ." 

"  That 's  it,  —  that 's  it !  You  cannot  return  to  the  Cri- 
mea, unless  with  loss  of  faith,  and  that  would  be  followed 
by  loss  of  salvation ;  therefore  no  earthly  wealth,  dignity, 
or  office  could  recompense  you.  In  truth,  you  owe  gratitude 
both  to  Pan  Nyenashinyets  and  Pan  Novoveski,  for  the 
first  brought  you  from  among  Pagans,  and  the  second  reared 
you  in  the  true  faith." 

"  I  know,"  said  Azya,  "  that  I  owe  them  gratitude,  and  I 
will  try  to  repay  them.  Your  grace  has  remarked  truly 
that  I  have  found  here  a  multitude  of  benefactors." 

"  You  speak  as  if  it  were  bitter  in  your  mouth  when  you 
say  that ;  but  count  yourself  your  well-wishers." 

"  His  grace  the  hetman  and  you  in  the  first  rank,  —  that 
I  will  repeat  until  death.  What  others  there  are,  I  know 
not." 

"  But  the  commandant  here  ?  Do  you  think  that  he 
would  yield  you  into  any  one's  hands,  even  though  you  were 
not  Tugai  Bey's  son  ?  And  Pani  Volodyovski,  I  heard 
what  she  said  about  you  during  supper.  Even  before, 
when  Novoveski  recognized  you,  she  took  your  part.  Pan 
Volodyovski  would  do  everything  for  her,  for  he  does  not 
see  the  world  beyond  her;  a  sister  could  not  have  more 
affection  for  a  brother  than  she  has  for  you.  During  the 
whole  time  of  supper  your  name  was  on  her  lips." 

The  young  Tartar  bent  his  head  suddenly,  and  began  to 
blow  into  the  cup  of  hot  drink ;  when  he  put  out  his  some- 
what blue  lips  to  blow,  his  face  became  so  Tartar-like  that 
Pan  Bogush  said,  — 

"  As  God  is  true,  how  entirely  like  Tugai  Bey  you  were 
this  moment  passes  imagination.  I  knew  him  perfectly. 
I  saw  him  in  the  palace  of  the  Khan  and  on  the  field  ;  I 
went  to  his  encampment  it  is  small  to  say  twenty  times." 

"  May  God  bless  the  just,  and  the  plague  choke  evil- 
doers !  "  said  Azya.  "  To  the  health  of  the  hetman !  " 

Pan  Bogush  drank,  and  said,  "  Health  and  long  years !     It 


PAN  MICHAEL.  247 

is  true  those  of  us  who  stand  with  him  are  a  handful,  but 
true  soldiers.  God  grant  that  we  shall  not  give  up  to  those 
bread-skinners,  who  know  only  how  to  intrigue  at  petty 
diets,  and  accuse  the  hetman  of  treason  to  the  king.  The 
rascals  !  We  stand  night  and  day  with  our  faces  to  the 
enemy,  and  they  draw  around  kneading-troughs  full  of 
hashed  meat  and  cabbage  with  millet,  and  are  drumming  on 
them  with  spoons,  —  that  is  their  labor.  The  hetman  sends 
envoy  after  envoy,  implores  reinforcements  for  Kamenyets. 
Cassandra-like,  he  predicts  the  destruction  of  Iliou  and  the 
people  of  Priam ;  but  they  have  no  thought  in  their  heads, 
and  are  simply  looking  for  an  offender  against  the  king." 

"  Of  what  is  your  grace  speaking  ?  " 

"  Nothing  !  I  made  a  comparison  of  Kamenyets  with 
Troy ;  but  you,  of  course,  have  not  heard  of  Troy.  Wait  a 
little  ;  the  hetman  will  obtain  naturalization  for  you.  The 
times  are  such  that  the  occasion  will  not  be  wanting,  if  you 
wish  really  to  cover  yourself  with  glory."  • 

"  Either  I  shall  cover  myself  with  glory,  or  earth  will 
cover  me.  You  will  hear  of  me,  as  God  is  in  heaven  ! " 

"  But  those  men  ?  What  is  Krychinski  doing  ?  Will 
they  return,  or  not  ?  What  are  they  doing  now  ?  " 

;<They  are  in  encampment,  —  some  in  Urzyisk,  others 
farther  on.  It  is  hard  to  come  to  an  agreement  at  present, 
for  they  are  far  from  one  another.  They  have  an  order  to 
move  in  spring  to  Adrianople,  and  to  take  with  them  all 
the  provisions  they  can  carry." 

"  In  God's  name,  that  is  important,  for  if  there  is  to  be 
a  great  gathering  of  forces  in  Adrianople,  war  with  us  is 
certain.  It  is  necessary  to  inform  the  hetman  of  this  at 
once.  He  thinks  also  that  war  will  come,  but  this  would 
be  an  infallible  sign." 

"  Halim  told  me  that  it  is  said  there  among  them  that  the 
Sultan  himself  is  to  be  at  Adrianople." 

"  Praised  be  the  name  of  the  Lord !  And  here  with  us 
hardly  a  handful  of  "troops.  Our  whole  hope  in  the  rock  of 
Kamenyets !  Does  Krychinski  bring  forward  new  con- 
ditions ?  " 

"  He  presents  complaints  rather  than  conditions.  A 
general  amnesty,  a  return  to  the  rights  and  privileges  of 
nobles  which  they  had  formerly,  commands  for  the  captains, 
—  is  what  they  wish;  but  as  the  Sultan  has  offered  them 
more,  they  are  hesitating." 

"  What  do  you  tell  me  ?     How  could  the  Sultan  give 


248  PAN  MICHAEL. 

them  more  than  the  Commonwealth  ?  In  Turkey  there  is 
absolute  rule,  and  all  rights  depend  on  the  fancy  of  the 
Sultan  alone.  Even  if  he  who  is  living  and  reigning  at 
present  were  to  keep  all  his  promises,  his  successor  might 
break  them  or  trample  on  them  at  will ;  while  with  us 
privileges  are  sacred,  and  whoso  becomes  a  noble,  from  him 
even  the  king  can  take  nothing." 

"  They  say  that  they  were  nobles,  and  still  they  were 
treated  on  a  level  with  dragoons ;  that  the  starostas  com- 
manded them  more  than  once  to  perform  various  duties, 
from  which  not  only  a  noble  is  free,  but  even  an  attendant." 

"But  if  the  hetman  promises  them." 

"No  one  doubts  the  high  mind  of  the  hetman,  and  all 
love  him  in  their  hearts  secretly;  but  they  think  thus  to 
themselves  :  '  The  crowd  of  nobles  will  shout  down  the  het- 
man as  a  traitor  ;  at  the  king's  .court  they  hate  him  ;  a 
confederacy  threatens  him  with  impeachment.  How  can  he 
do  anything  ?  ' ' 

Pan  Bogush  began  to  stroke  his  forelock.  "  Well, 
what  ?  " 

"  They  know  not  themselves  what  to  do." 

"  And  will  they  remain  with  the  Sultan  ?  " 

"'No." 

"  But  who  will  command  them  to  return  to  the  Common- 
wealth ?  " 

a  j  » 

«  How  is  that  ?  " 

"  I  am  the  son  of  Tugai  Bey." 

"  My  Azya,"  said  Pan  Bogush,  after  a  while,  "  I  do  not 
deny  that  they  may  be  in  love  with  your  blood  and  the 
glory  of  Tugai  Bey,  though  they  are  our  Tartars,  and  Tugai 
Bey  was  our  enemy.  I  understand  such  things,  for  even 
with  us  there  are  nobles  who  say  with  a  certain  pride  that 
Hmelnitski  was  a  noble,  and  descended,  not  from  the  Cos- 
sacks, but  from  our  people,  —  from  the  Mazovians.  Well, 
though  such  a  rascal  that  in  hell  a  worse  is  not  to  be  found, 
they  are  glad  to  recognize  him,  because  he  was  a  renowned 
warrior.  Such  is  the  nature  of  man  !  But  that  your  blood 
of  Tugai  Bey  should  give  you  the  right  to  command  all 
Tartars,  for  this  I  see  no  sufficient  reason." 

Azya  was  silent  for  a  time  ;  then  he  rested  his  palms  on 
his  thighs,  and  said,  "  Then  I  will  tell  you ;  Krychinski  and 
other  Tartars  obey  me.  For  besides  this,  that  they  are 
simple  Tartars  and  I  a  prince,  there  are  resources  and  power 


PAN   MICHAEL.  249 

In  me.  But  neither  you  know  them,  nor  does  the  hetman 
himself  know  them." 

"  What  resources,  what  power  ?  " 

"I  do  not  know  how  to  tell  you,"  answered  Azya,  in 
Russian.  "  But  why  am  I  ready  to  do  things  that  another 
would  not  dare  ?  Why  have  I  thought  of  that  of  which 
another  would  not  have  thought  ?  " 

"  What  do  you  say  ?     Of  what  have  you  thought  ?  " 

"I  have  thought  of  this,  — that  if  the  hetmau  would  give 
me  the  will  and  the  right,  I  would  bring  back,  not  merely  the 
captains,  but  would  put  half  the  horde  in  the  service  of 
the  lietman.  Is  there  little  vacant  land  in  the  Ukraine  and 
thr  \Vilderness?  Let  the  hetman  only  announce  that  if  a 
Tartar  comes  to  the  Commonwealth  he  will  be  a  noble,  will 
not  be  oppressed  in  his  faith,  and  will  serve  in  a  squadron 
of  his  own  people,  that  all  will  have  their  own  hetman,  as 
the  Cossacks  have,  and  my  head  for  it,  the  whole  Ukraine 
will  be  swarming  soon.  The  Lithuanian  Tartars  will  come; 
they  will  come  from  the  South  ;  they  will  come  from  Do- 
brudja  and  Belgrod ;  they  will  come  from  the  Crimea ; 
they  will  drive  their  flocks,  and  bring  their  wives  and  chil- 
dren in  wagons.  Do  not  shake  your  head,  your  grace ; 
they  will  come  !  —  as  those  came  long  ago  who  served  the 
Commonwealth  faithfully  for  generations.  In  the  Crimea 
and  everywhere  the  Khan  and  the  murzas  oppress  the  peo- 
ple ;  but  in  the  Ukraine  they  will  have  their  sabres,  and 
take  the  field  under  their  own  hetman.  I  swear  to  you  that 
they  will  come,  for  they  suffer  from  hunger  there  from  time 
to  time.  Now,  if  it  is  announced  among  the  villages  that  I, 
by  the  authority  of  the  hetman,  call  them,  —  that  Tugai 
Bey's  son  calls,  —  thousands  will  come  here." 

Pun  Bogush  seized  his  own  head:  "By  the  wounds  of 
God,  Azya,  whence  did  such  thoughts  come  to  you  ?  What 
would  there  be  ?  " 

"  There  would  be  in  the  Ukraine  a  Tartar  nation,  as  there 
is  a  Cossack.  You  have  granted  privileges  to  the  Cossacks, 
and  a  hetman.  Why  should  you  not  grant  them  to  us  ? 
You  ask  what  there  would  be.  There  would  not  be  what 
there  is  now,  —  a  second  Hmeluitski,  —  for  we  should  have 
put  foot  at  once  on  the  throat  of  the  Cossack;  there  would 
not  be  an  uprising  of  peasants,  slaughter  and  ruin;  there 
would  be  no  Doroshenko,  for  let  him  but  rise,  and  I  should 
be  the  first  to  bring  him  on  a  halter  to  the  feetr  of  the  het- 
man. And  should  the  Turkish  power  think  to  move  against 


250  PAN  MICHAEL. 

us,  we  would  beat  the  Sultan ;  were  the  Khan  to  threaten 
raids,  we  would  beat  the  Khan.  Is  it  so  long  since  the 
Lithuanian  Tartars,  and  those  of  Podolia,  did  the  like, 
though  remaining  in  the  Mohammedan  faith  ?  Why  should 
we  do  otherwise  ?  We  are  of  the  Commonwealth,  we  are 
noble.  Now,  calculate.  The  Ukraine  in  peace,  the  Cossacks 
in  check,  protection  against  Turkey,  a  number  of  tens  of 
thousands  of  additional  troops,  —  this  is  what  I  have  been 
thinking  ;  this  is  what  came  to  my  head  ;  this  is  why  Kry- 
chinski,  Adurovich,  Moravski,  Tarasovski,  obey  me  ;  this  is 
why  one  half  the  Crimea  will  roll  to  those  steppes  when  I 
raise  the  call." 

Pan  Bogush  was  as  much  astonished  and  weighed  down 
by  the  words  of  Azya  as  if  the  walls  of  that  room  in  which 
they  were  sitting  had  opened  on  a  sudden,  and  new,  un- 
known regions  had  appeared  to  his  eyes.  For  a  long  time 
he  could  not  utter  a  word,  and  merely  gazed  on  the  young 
Tartar ;  but  Azya  began  to  walk  with  great  strides  up  and 
down  in  the  room.  At  last  he  said,  — 

"Without  me  this  cannot  be  done,  for  I  am  the  son  of 
Tugai  Bey ;  and  from  the  Dnieper  to  the  Danube  there  is 
no  greater  name  among  the  Tartars."  After  a  while  he 
added :  "  What  are  Krychinski,  Tarasovski,  and  others  to 
me  ?  It  is  not  a  question  of  them  alone,  or  of  some  thou- 
sands of  Lithuanian  or  Podolian  Tartars,  but  of  the  whole 
Commonwealth.  They  say  that  in  spring  a  great  war  will 
rise  with  the  power  of  the  Sultan  ;  but  only  give  me  permis- 
sion, and  I  will  cause  such  a  seething  among  the  Tartars 
that  the  Sultan  himself  will  scald  his  hands." 

"  In  God's  name,  who  are  you,  Azya  ? "  cried  Pan 
Bogush. 

The  young  man  raised  his  head :  "  The  coming  hetman 
of  the  Tartars  !  " 

A  gleam  of  the  fire  fell  at  that  moment  on  Azya,  lighting  his 
face,  which  was  at  once  cruel  and  beautiful.  And  it  seemed 
to  Pan  Bogush  that  some  new  man  was  standing  before 
him,  such  was  the  greatness  and  pride  beating  from  the 
person  of  the  young  Tartar.  Pan  Bogush  felt  also  that 
Azya  was  speaking  the  truth.  If  such  a  proclamation  of 
the  hetman  were  published,  all  the  Lithuanian  and  Podolian 
Tartars  would  return  without  fail,  and  very  many  of  the 
wild  Tartars  would  follow  them.  The  old  noble  knew  pass- 
ing well  the  Crimea,  in  which  he  had  been  twice  as  a  captive, 
and,  ransomed  by  the  hetman,  had  been  afterward  an 


PAN   MICHAEL.  251 

envoy ;  he  knew  the  court  of  Bagchesarai ;  he  knew  the 
hordes  living  from  the  Don  to  the  Dobrudja ;  he  knew  that 
in  winter  many  villages  were  depopulated  by  hunger ;  he 
knew  that  the  despotism  and  rapacity  of  the  Khan's  baskaks 
were  disgusting  to  the  niurzas ;  that  in  the  Crimea  itself  it 
came  often  to  rebellion  ;  he  understood  at  once,  then,  that 
rich  lands  and  privileges  would  entice  without  fail  all  those 
for  whom  it  was  evil,  narrow,  or  dangerous  in  their  old 
homesteads.  They  would  be  enticed  most  surely  if  the  son 
of  Tugai  Bey  raised  the  call.  He  alone  could  do  this,  —  no 
other.  He,  through  the  renown  of  his  father,  might  rouse 
villages,  involve  one  half  of  the  Crimea  against  the  other 
half,  bring  in  the  wild  horde  of  Belgrod,  and  shake  the 
whole  power  of  the  Khan,  —  nay,  even  that  of  the  Sultan. 
Should  the  hetman  desire  to  take  advantage  of  the  occa- 
sion, he  might  consider  Tugai  Bey's  son  as  a  man  sent  by 
Providence  itself. 

Fan  Bogush  began  then  to  look  with  another  eye  on  Azya, 
and  to  wonder  more  and  more  how  such  thoughts  could 
be  hatched  in  his  head.  And  the  sweat  was  in  drops  like 
pearl  on  the  forehead  of  the  knight,  so  immense  did  those 
thoughts  seem  to  him.  Still,  doubt  remained  yet  in  his 
soul ;  therefore  he  said,  after  a  while,  — 

"  And  do  you  know  that  there  would  have  to  be  war  with 
Turkey  over  such  a  question  ?  " 

"  There  will  be  war  as  it  is.  Why  did  they  command  the 
horde  to  march  to  Adrianople  ?  There  will  be  war  unless 
dissensions  rise  in  the  Sultan's  dominions;  and  if  it  comes 
to  taking  the  field,  half  the  horde  will  be  on  our  side." 

"  For  every  point  the  rogue  has  an  argument,"  thought 
Pan  Bogush.  "  It  turns  one's  head,"  said  he,  after  a  while. 
"  You  see,  Azya,  in  every  case  it  is  not  an  easy  thing. 
What  would  the  king  say,  what  the  chancellor,  the  estates, 
and  all  the  nobles,  for  the  greater  part  hostile  to  the  het- 
man ?  " 

"I  need  only  the* permission  of  the  hetman  on  paper; 
and  when  we  are  once  here,  let  them  drive  us  out !  Who 
will  drive  us  out,  and  with  what  ?  You  would  be  glad  to 
squeeze  the  Zaporojians  out  of  the  Saitch,  but  you  cannot  in 
any  way." 

"  The  hetman  will  dread  the  responsibility." 

"  Behind  the  hetman  will  be  fifty  thousand  sabres  of  the 
horde,  besides  the  troops  which  he  has  in  hand." 

"  But  the  Cossacks  ?  Do  you  forget  the  Cossacks  ?  They 
will  begin  opposition  at  once." 


252  PAN  MICHAEL. 

"  We  are  needed  here  specially  to  keep  a  sword  hanging 
over  the  Cossack  neck.  Through  whom  has  Doroshenko 
support  ?  Through  the  Tartars  !  Let  me  take  the  Tartars 
in  hand,  Doroshenko  must  beat  with  his  forehead  to  the 
hetman." 

Here  Azya  stretched  out  his  palm  and  opened  his  fingers 
like  the  talons  of  an  eagle  ;  then  he  grasped  after  the  hilt 
of  his  sabre.  "  This  is  the  way  we  will  show  the  Cossacks 
law  !  They  will  become  serfs,  and  we  will  hold  the  Ukraine. 
Do  you  hear,  Pan  Bogush  ?  You  think  that  I  am  a  small 
man ;  but  I  am  not  so  small  as  it  seems  to  Novoveski,  the 
commandant  of  this  place,  and  you,  Pan  Bogush.  Behold, 
I  have  been  thinking  over  this  day  and  night,  till  I  have 
grown  thin,  till  my  face  is  sunken.  Look  at  it,  your  grace ; 
it  has  grown  black.  But  what  I  have  thought  out,  I  have 
thought  out  well ;  and  therefore  I  tell  you  that  in  me  there 
are  resources  and  power.  You  see  yourself  that  these  are 
great  things.  Go  to  the  hetman,  but  go  quickly.  Lay  the 
question  before  him  ;  let  him  give  me  a  letter  touching  this 
matter,  and  I  shall  not  care  about  the  estates.  The  het- 
man has  a  great  soul ;  the  hetman  will  know  that  this  is 
power  and  resource.  Tell  the  hetman  that  I  am  Tugai  Bey's 
son  ;  that  I  alone  can  do  this.  Lay  it  before  him,  let  him 
consent  to  it;  but  in  God's  name,  let  it  be  done  in  time, 
while  there  is  snow  on  the  steppe,  before  spring,  for  in 
spring  there  will  be  war  !  Go  at  once  and  return  at  once, 
so  that  I  may  know  quickly  what  I  am  to  do." 

Pan  Bogush  did  not  observe  even  that  Azya  spoke  in  a 
tone  of  command,  as  if  he  were  a  hetman  giving  instructions 
to  his  officer.  "  To-morrow  I  will  rest,"  said  he  ;  "  and  after 
to-morrow  I  will  set  out.  God  grant  me  to  find  the  hetman 
in  Yavorov  !  Decision  is  quick  with  him,  and  soon  you  will 
have  an  answer." 

"What  does  your  grace  think,  —  will  the  hetman 
consent?" 

"  Perhaps  he  will  command  you  to  come  to  him ;  do  not 
go  to  Rashkoff,  then,  at  present,  —  you  can  go  more  quickly 
to  Yavorov  from  this  place.  Whether  he  will  agree,  I 
know  not;  but  he  will  take  the  matter  under  prompt 
consideration,  for  you  present  powerful  reasons.  By  the 
living  God,  I  did  not  expect  this  of  you ;  but  I  see  now 
that  you  are  an  uncommon  man,  and  that  the  Lord  God 
predestined  you  to  greatness.  Well,  Azya,  Azya  !  Lieu- 
tenant in  a  Tartar  squadron,  nothing  more,  and  such  things 


!'AX   .MICHAEL.  253 

are  in  his  head  that  fear  seizes  a  man !  Now  I  shall  not 
wonder  even  if  I  see  a  heron-feather  in  your  cap,  and  a 
bunchuk  above  you.  I  believe  now  what  you  tell  me,  — 
that  these  thoughts  have  been  burning  you  in  the  night- 
time. I  will  go  at  once,  the  day  after  to-morrow;  but  I  will 
rest  a  little.  Now  I  will  leave  you,  for  it  is  late,  and  my 
head  is  as  noisy  as  a  saw-mill.  Be  with  God,  Azya  !  My 
temples  are  aching  as  if  I  had  been  drunk.  Be  with  God, 
Azya,  son  of  Tugai  Bey  ! " 

Here  Pan  Bogush  pressed  the  thin  hand  of  the  Tartar, 
and  turned  toward  the  door;  but  on  the  threshold  he 
stopped  again,  and  said,  "  How  is  this  ?  New  troops  for 
the  Commonwealth ;  a  sword  ready  above  the  neck  of  the 
Cossack  ;  Doroshenko  conquered  ;  dissension  in  the  Crimea; 
the  Turkish  power  weakened ;  an  end  to  the  raids  against 
Russia,  —  for  God's  sake  ! " 

When  he  had  said  this,  Pan  Bogush  went  out.  Azya 
looked  after  him  a  while,  and  whispered,  "  But  for  me  a 
bunchuk,  a  baton,  and,  with  consent  or  without,  she.  Other- 
wise woe  to  you  ! " 

Then  he  finished  the  gorailka,  and  threw  himself  on  to 
the  bed,  covered  with  skins.  The  fire  had  gone  down  in  the 
chimney ;  but  through  the  window  came  in  the  clear  rays 
of  the  moon,  which  had  risen  high  in  the  cold  wintry  sky. 
Azya  lay  for  some  time  quietly,  but  evidently  was  unable 
to  sleep.  At  last  he  rose,  approached  the  window,  and 
looked  at  the  moon,  sailing  like  a  ship  through  the  infinite 
solitudes  of  heaven.  The  young  Tartar  looked  at  it  long; 
at  last  he  placed  his  fists  on  his  breast,  pointed  both  thumbs 
upward,  and  from  the  mouth  of  him  who  barely  an  hour 
before  had  confessed  Christ,  came,  in  a  half-chant,  a 
half-drawl,  in  a  melancholy  key,  — 

"  La  Allah  ilia  Allah  !    Mahomet  Rossul  Allah  ! » 


254  PAN  MICHAEL. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

MEANWHILE  Basia  was  holding  counsel  from  early  morn- 
ing with  her  husband  and  Pan  Zagloba  how  to  unite  two 
loving  and  straitened  hearts.  The  two  men  laughed  at  her 
enthusiasm,  and  did  not  cease  to  banter  her  ;  still,  yielding 
to  her  usually  in  everything,  as  to  a  spoiled  child,  they 
promised  at  last  to  assist  her. 

"  The  best  thing,"  said  Zagloba,  "  is  to  persuade  old 
Novoveski  not  to  take  the  girl  with  him  to  Rashkoff ;  tell 
him  that  the  frosts  have  come,  and  that  the  road  is  not 
perfectly  safe.  Here  the  young  people  will  see  each  other 
often,  and  fall  in  love  with  all  their  might." 

"  That  is  a  splendid  idea,"  cried  Basia. 

"  Splendid  or  not,"  said  Zagloba,  "  do  not  let  them  out  of 
your  sight.  You  are  a  woman,  and  I  think  this  way,  — you 
will  solder  them  at  last,  for  a  woman  carries  her  point 
always ;  but  see  to  it  that  the  Devil  does  not  carry  his  point 
in  the  mean  while.  That  would  be  a  shame  for  you,  since 
the  affair  is  on  your  responsibility." 

Basia  began  first  of  all  to  spit  at  Pan  Zagloba,  like  a  cat ; 
then  she  said,  "  You  boast  that  you  were  a  Turk  in  your 
youth,  and  you  think  that  every  one  is  a  Turk.  Azya  is  not 
that  kind."' 

"  Not  a  Turk,  only  a  Tartar.  Pretty  image  !  She  would 
vouch  for  Tartar  love." 

"They  are  both  thinking  more  of  weeping,  and  that 
from  harsh  sorrow.  Eva,  besides,  is  a  most  honest  maiden." 

"  Still,  she  has  a  face  as  if  some  one  had  written  on  her 
forehead,  '  Here  are  lips  for  you ! '  Ho !  she  is  a  daw. 
Yesterday  I  fixed  it  in  my  mind  that  when  she  sits  opposite 
a  nice  fellow,  her  sighs  are  such  that  they  drive  her  plate 
forward  time  after  time,  and  she  must  push  it  back  again. 
A  real  daw,  I  tell  you." 

"  Do  you  wish  me  to  go  to  my  own  room  ?  "  asked  Basia. 

"  You  will  not  go  when  it  is  a  question  of  match-making. 
I  know  you,  —  you  '11  not  go !  But  still  't  is  too  early  for 
you  to  make  matches ;  for  that  is  the  business  of  women 
with  gray  hair.  Pani  Boski  told  me  yesterday  that  when 
she  saw  you  returning  from  the  battle  in  trousers,  she 


PAN   MICHAEL.  255 

thought  that  she  was  looking  at  Pani  Volodyovski's  son, 
who  had  gone  to  the  woods  on  an  expedition.  You  do  not  love 
dignity ;  but  dignity,  too,  does  not  love  you,  which  appears 
at  once  from  your  slender  form.  You  are  a  regular  student, 
as  God  is  dear  to  me  !  There  is  another  style  of  women  in 
the  world  now.  In  my  time,  when  a  woman  sat  down,  the 
chair  squeaked  in  such  fashion  that  you  might  think  some 
one  had  sat  on  the  tail  of  a  dog ;  but  as  to  you,  you  might 
ride  bareback  on  a  tom-cat  without  great  harm  to  the  beast. 
They  say,  too,  that  women  who  begin  to  make  matches  will 
have  no  posterity." 

"Do  they  really  say  that?"  asked  the  little  knight, 
alarmed. 

But  Zagloba  began  to  laugh ;  and  Basia,  putting  her  rosy 
face  to  the  face  of  her  husband,  said,  in  an  undertone,  "  Ah, 
Michael,  at  a  convenient  time  we  will  make  a  pilgrimage  to 
Chenstohova ;  then  maybe  the  Most  Holy  Lady  will  change 
matters." 

"  That  is  the  best  way  indeed,"  said  Zagloba. 

Then  they  embraced  at  once,  and  Basia  said,  "  But  now 
let  us  talk  of  Azya  and  poor  Eva,  of  how  we  are  to  help 
them.  We  are  happy  ;  let  them  be  happy." 

"When  Novoveski  goes  away,  it  will  be  easier  for 
them,"  said  the  little  knight ;  "  for  in  his  presence  they 
could  not  see  each  other,  especially  as  Azya  hates  the  old 
man.  But  if  the  old  man  were  to  give  him  Eva,  maybe, 
forgetting  former  offences,  they  would  begin  to  love  each 
other  as  son-in-law  and  father-in-law.  According  to  my 
head,  it  is  not  a  question  of  bringing  the  young  people 
together,  for  they  love  each  other  already,  but  of  bringing 
over  the  old  man." 

"  He  is  a  misanthrope  !  "  said  Basia. 

"Baska,"  said  Zagloba,  "imagine  to  yourself  that  you 
had  a  daughter,  and  that  you  had  to  give  her  to  some 
Tartar  —  " 

"  Azya  is  a  prince." 

"  I  do  not  deny  that  Tugai  Bey  comes  of  high  blood. 
Ketling  was  a  noble ;  still  Krysia  would  not  have  married 
him  if  he  had  not  been  naturalized." 

"  Then  try  to  obtain  naturalization  for  Azya." 

"  Is  that  an  easy  thing  ?  Though  some  one  were  to 
admit  him  to  his  escutcheon,  the  Diet  would  have  to  confirm 
the  choice ;  and  for  that,  time  and  protection  are  necessary." 

"  I  do  not  like  this,  —  that  time  is  needed,  —  for  we  could 


256  PAN   MICHAEL. 

find  protection.  Surely  the  hetman  would  not  refuse  it  to 
Azya,  for  he  loves  soldiers.  Michael,  write  to  the  hetman. 
Do  you  want  ink,  pen,  paper  ?  Write  at  once  !  I  '11  bring 
you  everything,  and  a  taper  and  the  seal ;  and  you  will  sit 
down  and  write  without  delay." 

"0  Almighty  God  !  "  cried  he,  "I  asked  a  sedate,  sober 
wife  of  Thee,  and  Thou  didst  give  me  a  whirlwind ! " 

"Talk  that  way,  talk;  then  I'll  die." 

"  Ah,  your  impatience  ! "  cried  the  little  knight,  with 
animation,  — "  your  impatience,  tf u !  tfu !  a  charm  for  a 
dog ! "  Here  he  turned  to  Zagloba :  "  Do  you  not  know  the 
words  of  a  charm  ?  " 

"  I  know  them,  and  I  've  told  them,"  said  Zagloba. 

"  Write ! "  cried  Basia,  "  or  I  shall  jump  out  of  my 
skin." 

"I  would  write  twelve  letters,  to  please  you,  though  I 
know  not  what  good  that  would  be,  for  in  this  case  the 
hetman  himself  can  do  nothing ;  even  with  protection, 
Azya  can  appear  only  at  the  right  time.  My  Basia,  Panna 
Novoveski  has  revealed  her  secret  to  you,  —  very  well ! 
But  you  have  not  spoken  to  Azya,  and  you  do  not  know 
to  this  moment  whether  he  is  burning  with  love  for  Eva 
or  not." 

"  He  not  burning  !  Why  should  n't  he  be  burning,  when  he 
kissed  her  in  the  storehouse  ?  Aha  ! " 

"  Golden  soul ! "  said  Zagloba,  smiling.  "  That  is  like 
the  talk  of  a  newly  born  infant,  except  that  you  turn  your 
tongue  better.  My  love,  if  Michael  and  I  had  to  marry  all 
the  women  whom  we  happened  to  kiss,  we  should  have  to 
join  the  Mohammedan  faith  at  once,  and  I  should  be  Sultan 
of  Turkey,  and  he  Khan  of  the  Crimea.  How  is  that, 
Michael,  hei  ?  " 

"I  suspected  Michael  before  I  was  his,"  said  Basia;  and 
thrusting  her  finger  up  to  his  eye,  she  began  to  tease  him. 
"  Move  your  mustaches  ;  move  them  !  Do  not  deny  !  I 
know,  I  know,  and  you  know  —  at  Ketling's." 

The  little  knight  really  moved  his  mustaches  to  give  him- 
self courage,  and  at  the  same  time  to  cover  his  confusion ; 
at  last,  wishing  to  change  the  conversation,  he  said,  "  And 
so  you  do  not  know  whether  Azya  is  in  love  with  Panna 
Eva  ?  " 

"Wait;  I  will  talk  to  him  alone  and  ask  him.  But  he  is 
in  love,  he  must  be  in  love  !  Otherwise  I  don't  want  to 
know  him." 


TAN   MICHAEL.  257 

"  In  God's  name !  she  is  ready  to  talk  him  into  it,"  said 
Zagloba. 

"  And  I  will  persuade  him,  even  if  I  had  to  shut  myself 
in  with  him  daily." 

"  Inquire  of  him,  to  begin  with,"  said  the  little  knight. 
"  Maybe  at  first  he  will  not  confess,  for  he  is  shy ;  that  is 
nothing.  You  will  gain  his  confidence  gradually ;  you  '11 
know  him  better;  you'll  understand  him,  and  then  only  can 
you  decide  what  to  do."  Here  the  little  knight  turned  to 
Zagloba :  "  She  seems  giddy,  but  she  is  quick." 

"  Kids  are  quick,"  said  Zagloba,  seriously. 

Further  conversation  was  interrupted  by  Pan  Bogush, 
who  rushed  in  like  a  bomb,  and  had  barely  kissed  Basia's 
hands  when  he  exclaimed,  "May  the  bullets  strike  that 
Azya !  I  could  not  close  my  eyes  the  whole  night.  May 
the  woods  cover  him  !  " 

"  What  did  Pan  Azya  bring  against  your  grace  ?  "  asked 
Basia. 

"  Do  you  know  what  we  were  making  yesterday  ?  "  And 
Pan  Bogush,  staring,  began  to  look  around  on  those 
present. 

"What?" 

"  History !     As  God  is  dear  to  me,  I  do  not  lie." 

"  What  history  ?  " 

"The  history  of  the  Commonwealth;  that  is,  simply  a 
great  man.  Pan  Sobieski  himself  will  be  astonished  when 
I  lay  Azya's  ideas  before  him.  A  great  man,  I  repeat  to 
you  ;  and  I  regret  that  I  cannot  tell  you  more,  for  I  am  sure 
that  you  would  be  as  much  astonished  as  I.  I  can  only  say 
that  if  what  he  has  in  view  succeeds,  God  knows  "what  he 
will  be." 

"For  example,"  asked  Zagloba,  "will  he  be  hetnian  ?" 

Pan  Bogush  put  his  hands  on  his  hips :  "That  is  it,  —  he 
will  be  hetman.  I  am  sorry  that  I  cannot  tell  you  more. 
He  will  be  hetman,  and  that's  enough." 

"  Perhaps  a  dog  hetman,  or  he  will  go  with  bullocks. 
Chabans  have  their  hetmans  also.  Tfu  !  what  is  this  that 
your  grace  is  saying,  Pan  Under-Stolnik  ?  That  he  is  the 
son  of  Tugai  Bey  is  true ;  but  if  he  is  to  become  hetman, 
what  am  I  to  become,  or  what  will  Pan  Michael  become,  or 
your  grace  ?  Shall  we  become  three  kings  at  the  birth 
of  Christ,  waiting  for  the  abdication  of  Caspar,  Melchior, 
and  Baltazar  ?  The  nobles  at  least  created  me  com- 
mander} I  resigned  the  office,  however,  out  of  friendship 

II 


258  PAN  MICHAEL. 

for  Pavel,1  but,  as  God  lives,  I  don't  understand  youi 
prediction." 

"  But  I  tell  you  that  Azya  is  a  great  man." 

"  I  said  so,"  exclaimed  Basia,  turning  toward  the  door, 
through  which  other  guests  at  the  stanitsa  began  to  enter. 

First  caine  Pani  Boski  with  the  blue-eyed  Zosia,  and  Pan 
Novoveski  with  Eva,  who,  after  a  night  of  bad  sleep,  looked 
more  charming  than  usual.  She  had  slept  badly,  for  strange 
dreams  had  disturbed  her;  she  dreamed  of  Azya,  only  he 
was  more  beautiful  and  insistent  than  of  old.  The  blood 
rushed  to  her  face  at  thought  of  this  dream,  for  she  imagined 
that  every  one  would  guess  it  in  her  eyes.  But  no  one  noticed 
her,  since  all  had  begun  to  say  "  good-day  "  to  Pani  Volody- 
ovski.  Then  Pan  Bogush  resumed  his  narrative  touching 
Azya's  greatness  and  destiny ;  and  Basia  was  glad  that  Eva 
^and  Pan  Novoveski  must  listen  to  it.  In  fact,  the  old 
noble  had  blown  off  his  anger  since  his  first  meeting  with 
the  Tartar,  and  was  notably  calmer.  He  spoke  of  him  no 
longer  as  his  man.  To  tell  the  truth,  the  discovery  that 
he  was  a  Tartar  prince  and  a  son  of  Tugai  Bey  imposed 
upon  him  beyond  measure.  He  heard  with  wonder  of 
Azya's  uncommon  bravery,  and  how  the  hetman  had  in- 
trusted such  an  important  function  to  him  as  that  of  bring- 
ing back  to  the  service  of  the  Commonwealth  all  the 
Lithuanian  and  Podolian  Tartars.  At  times  it  seemed  even 
to  Pan  Novoveski  that  they  were  talking  of  some  one  else 
besides  Azya,  to  such  a  degree  had  the  young  Tartar  become 
uncommon. 

But  Pan  Bogush  repeated  every  little  while,  with  a  very 
mysterious  mien,  "  This  is  nothing  in  comparison  with  what 
is  waiting  for  him  ;  but  I  am  not  free  to  speak  of  it."  And 
when  the  others  shook  their  heads  with  doubt,  he  cried, 
"There  are  two  great  men  in  the  Commonwealth,  —  Pan 
Sobieski  and  that  Azya,  son  of  Tugai  Bey." 

"  By  the  dear  God,"  said  Pan  Novoveski,  made  impatient 
at  last,  "  prince  or  not  prince,  what  can  he  be  in  this  Com- 
monwealth, unless  he  is  a  noble  ?  He  is  not  naturalized 
yet." 

"  The  hetman  will  get  him  ten  naturalizations  ! "  cried 
Basia. 

Eva  listened  to  these  praises  with   closed  eyes  and  a 

1  Zagloba  refers  here  to  Pavel  Sapyeha,  voevoda  of  Vilna,  and  grand 
hetman  of  Lithuania. 


PAN  MICHAEL.  259 

beating  heart.  It  is  difficult  to  say  whether  it  would  have 
beaten  so  feverishly  for  a  poor  and  unknown  Azya  as  for 
Azya  the  knight  and  man  of  great  future.  But  that  glitter 
captivated  her ;  and  the  old  remembrance  of  the  kisses 
and  the  fresh  dream  went  through  her  with  a  quiver  of 
delight. 

"  So  great  and  so  celebrated,"  said  Eva.     "  What  wonder 
if  he  is  as  quick  as  fire  !  " 


260  PAN   MICHAEL. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

BAST  A  took  the  Tartar  that  very  day  to  "an  examination," 
following  the  advice  of  her  husband ;  and  fearing  the  shy- 
ness of  Azya,  she  resolved  not  to  insist  too  much  at  once. 
Still,  he  had  barely  appeared  before  her  when  she  said, 
straight  from  the  bridge, — 

"  Pan  Bogush  says  that  you  are  a  great  man ;  but  I  think 
that  the  greatest  man  cannot  avoid  love." 

Azya  closed  his  eyes,  inclined  his  head,  and  said,  "  Your 
grace  is  right." 

"  I  see  that  you  are  a  man  with  a  heart." 

When  she  had  said  this,  Basia  began  to  shake  her  yellow 
forelock  and  blink,  as  if  to  say  that  she  knew  affairs  of  this 
kind  well,  and  also  hoped  that  she  was  not  speaking  to  a 
man  without  knowledge.  Azya  raised  his  head  and  em- 
braced with  his  glance  her  charming  figure.  She  had  never 
seemed  so  wonderful  to  him  as  on  that  day,  when  her  eyes, 
gleaming  from  curiosity  and  animation,  and  the  blushing 
child-like  face,  full  of  smiles,  were  raised  toward  his  face. 
But  the  more  innocent  the  face,  the  more  charm  did  Azya 
see  in  it ;  the  more  did  desire  rise  in  his  soul ;  the  more 
powerfully  did  love  seize  and  intoxicate  him  as  with  wine, 
and  drive  out  all  other  desires,  save  this  one  alone,— 
to  take  her  from  her  husband,  bear  her  away,  hold  her  for- 
ever at  his  breast,  press  her  lips  to  his  lips,  feel  her  arms 
twined  around  his  neck  :  to  love,  to  love  even  to  forget  him- 
self, even  to  perish  alone,  or  perish  with  her.-  At  thought 
of  this  the  whole  world  whirled  around  with  him  ;  new 
desires  crept  up  every  moment  from  the  den  of  his  soul, 
like  serpents  from  crevices  in  a  cliff.  But  he  was  a  man 
who  possessed  also  great  self-control ;  therefore  he  said  in 
spirit,  "  It  is  impossible  yet !  "  and  he  held  his  wild  heart 
at  check  when  he  chose,  as  a  furious  horse  is  .held  on  a 
lariat. 

He  stood  before  her  apparently  cold,  though  he  had  a 
flame  in  his  mouth  and  eyes,  and  his  deep  pupils  told  all 
that  his  compressed  lips  refused  to  confess.  But  Basia,  hav- 
ing a  soul  as  pure  as  water  in  a  spring,  and  besides  a  mind 
occupied  entirely  with  something  else,  did  not  understand 


PAN   MICHAEL.  261 

that  speech ;  she  was  thinking  in  the  moment  what  further 
to  tell  the  Tartar;  and  at  last,  raising  her  finger,  she  said: 

"  More  than  one  bears  in  his  heart  hidden  love,  and  does 
not  dare  to  speak  of  it  to  any  one ;  but  if  he  would  confess 
his  love  sincerely,  perhaps  he  might  learn  something  good." 

Azya's  face  grew  dark  for  a  moment ;  a  wild  hope  flashed 
through  his  head  like  lightning  ;  but  he  recollected  himself, 
and  inquired,  "  Of  what  does  your  grace  wish  to  speak  ?  " 

"Another  would  be  hasty  with  you,"  said  Basia,  "since 
women  are  impatient,  and  not  deliberate  ;  but  I  am  not  of 
that  kind.  As  to  helping,  I  would  help  you  willingly,  but 
I  do  not  ask  your  confidence  in  a  moment ;  I  only  say  this  to 
you :  Do  not  hide ;  come  to  me  even  daily.  I  have  spoken  of 
this  matter  with  iny  husband  already ;  gradually  you  will 
come  to  know  and  see  my  good-will,  and  you  will  know  that 
I  do  not  ask  through  mere  curiosity,  but  from  sympathy, 
and  because  if  I  am  to  assist,  I  must  be  certain  that  you 
are  in  love.  Besides,  it  is  proper  that  you  show  it  first ; 
when  you  acknowledge  it  to  me,  perhaps  I  can  tell  you 
something." 

Tugai  Bey's  son  understood  now  in  an  instant  how  vain 
was  that  hope  which  had  gleamed  in  his  head  a  moment 
before ;  he  divined  at  once  that  it  was  a  question  of  Eva 
Novoveski,  and  all  the  curses  on  the  whole  family  which 
time  had  collected  in  his  vengeful  soul  came  to  his  mouth. 
Hatred  burst  out  in  him  like  a  flame ;  the  greater,  the  more 
different  were  the  feelings  which  had  shaken  him  a  moment 
earlier.  But  he  recollected  himself.  He  possessed  not 
merely  self-control,  but  the  adroitness  of  Orientals.  In  one 
moment  he  understood  that  if  he  burst  out  against  the 
Novoveskis  venomously,  he  would  lose  the  favor  of  Basia 
and  the  possibility  of  seeing  her  daily ;  but,  on  the  other* 
hand,  he  felt  that  he  could  not  conquer  himself  —  at  least 
then  —  to  such  a  degree  as  to  lie  to  that  desired  one  in  the 
face  of  his  own  soul  by  saying  that  he  loved  another.  There- 
fore, from  a  real  internal  conflict  and  undissembled  suffer- 
ing, he  threw  himself  suddenly  before  Basia,  and  kissing 
her  feet,  began  to  speak  thus  :  — 

"  I  give  my  soul  into  the  hands  of  your  grace ;  I  give 
my  faith  into  the  hands  of  your  grace.  I  do  not  wish 
to  do  anything  except  what  you  command  me ;  I  do  not 
wish  to  know  any  other  will.  Do  with  me  what  you 
like.  I  live  in  torment  and  suffering ;  I  am  unhappy.  Have 
compassion  on  me  ;  if  not,  I  shall  perish  and  be  lost," 


262  PAN  MICHAEL. 

And  he  began  to  groan,  for  he  felt  immense  pain,  and 
unacknowledged  desires  burned  him  with  a  living  flame. 
But  Basia  considered  these  words  as  an  outburst  of  love  for 
Eva,  —  love  long  and  painfully  hidden  ;  therefore  pity  for 
the  young  man  seized  her,  and  two  tears  gleamed  in  her 
eyes. 

"  Rise,  Azya ! "  said  she  to  the  kneeling  Tartar.  "  I  have 
always  wished  you  well,  and  I  wish  sincerely  to  help  you  ; 
you  come  of  high  blood,  and  they  will  surely  not  withhold 
naturalization  in  return  for  your  services.  Pan  Novoveski 
will  let  himself  be  appeased,  for  now  he  looks  with  different 
eyes  on  you;  and  Eva  — "  Here  Basia  rose,  raised  her 
rosy,  smiling  face,  and  putting  her  hand  at  the  side  of  her 
mouth,  whispered  in  Azya's  ear,  —  "Eva  loves  you." 

His  face  wrinkled,  as  if  from  rage ;  he  seized  his  hips 
with  his  hands,  and  without  thinking  of  the  astonishment 
which  his  exclamation  might  cause,  he  repeated  a  number 
of  times  in  a  hoarse  voice,  "  Allah  !  Allah !  Allah !  "  Then 
he  rushed  out  of  the  room. 

Basia  looked  after  him  for  a  moment.  The  cry  did  not 
astonish  her  greatly,  for  the  Polish  soldiers  used  it  often ; 
but  seeing  the  violence  of  the  young  Tartar,  she  said  to 
herself,  "  Real  fire  !  He  is  wild  after  her."  Then  she 
shot  out  like  a  whirlwind  to  make  a  report  to  her  husband, 
Pan  Zagloba,  and  Eva. 

She  found  Pan  Michael  in  the  chancery,  occupied  with 
the  registry  of  the  squadron  stationed  in  Hreptyoff.  He 
was  sitting  and  writing,  but  she  ran  up  to  him  and  cried, 
"  Do  you  know  ?  I  spoke  to  him.  He  fell  at  my  feet ;  he 
is  wild  after  her." 

The  little  knight  put  down  his  pen  and  began  to  look  at 
his  wife.  She  was  so  animated  and  pretty  that  his  eyes 
gleamed ;  and,  smiling,  he  stretched  his  arms  toward  her. 
She,  defending  herself,  repeated  again,  — 

"  Azya  is  wild  after  Eva  !  " 

"  As  I  am  after  you,"  said  the  little  knight,  embracing 
her. 

That  same  day  Zagloba  and  Eva  knew  most  minutely  all 
her  conversation  with  Azya.  The  young  lady's  heart 
yielded  itself  now  completely  to  the  sweet  feeling,  and  was 
beating  like  a  hammer  at  the  thought  of  the  first  meeting, 
and  still  more  at  thought  of  what  would  happen  when  they 
should  be  alone.  And  she  saw  already  the  face  of  Azya  at 
her  knees,  and  felt  his  kisses  on  her  hands,  and  her  own 


PAN   MICHAEL.  263 

faintness  at  the  time  when  the  head  of  a  maiden  bends 
toward  the  arms  of  the  loved  one,  and  her  lips  whisper, 
"I  love."  Meanwhile,  from  emotion  and  disquiet  she 
kissed  Basia's  hands  violently,  and  looked  every  moment  at 
the  door  to  see  if  she  could  behold  in  it  the  gloomy  but 
shapely  form  of  young  Tugai  Bey. 

But  Azya  did  not  show  himself,  for  Halim  had  come  to 
him,  —  Halim,  the  old  servant  of  his  father,  and  at  present 
a  considerable  murza  in  the  Dobrudja.  He  had  come  quite 
openly,  since  it  was  known  in  Hreptyotf  that  he  was  the 
intermediary  between  Azya  and  those  captains  who  had 
accepted  service  with  the  Sultan.  They  shut  themselves 
up  at  once  in  Azya's  quarters,  where  Halim,  after  he  had 
given  the  requisite  obeisances  to  Tugai  Bey's  son,  crossed 
his  hands  on  his  breast,  and  with  bowed  head  waited  for 
questions. 

"  Have  you  any  letters  ?  "  asked  Azya. 

"  I  have  none,  Effendi.  They  commanded  me  to  give 
everything  in  words." 

"  Well,  speak." 

"War  is  certain.  In  the  spring  we  must  all  go  to 
Adrianople.  Commands  are  issued  to  the  Bulgarians  to 
take  hay  and  barley  there." 

"  And  where  will  the  Khan  be  ?  " 

"  He  will  ga  straight  by  the  Wilderness,  through  the 
Ukraine,  to  Doroshenko." 

"  What  do  you  hear  concerning  the  encampments  ?  " 

"  They  are  glad  of  the  war,  and  are  sighing  for  spring ; 
there  is  suffering  in  the  encampments,  though  the  winter 
is  only  beginning." 

"  Is  the  suffering  great  ?  " 

"Many  horses  have  died.  In  Belgrod  men  have  sold 
themselves  into  slavery,  only  to  live  till  spring.  Many 
horses  have  died,  Effendi ;  for  in  the  fall  there  was  little 
grass  on  the  steppes.  The  sun  burned  it  up." 

"  But  have  they  heard  of  Tugai  Bey's  son  ?  " 

"  I  have  spoken  as  much  as  you  permitted.  The  report 
went  out  from  the  Lithuanian  and  Podolian  Tartars ;  but 
no  one  knows  the  truth  clearly.  They  are  talking  too  of 
this,  —  that  the  Commonwealth  wishes  to  give  them  freedom 
and  land,  and  call  them  to  service  under  Tugai  Bey's  son. 
At  the  mere  report  all  the  villages  that  are  poorer  were 
roused.  They  arc  willing,  Effendi.  they  are  willing ;  but  some 
explain  to  them  that  this  is  all  untrue,  that  the  Common- 


264  PAN  MICHAEL. 

wealth  will  send  troops  against  them,  and  that  there  is  no 
son  of  Tugai  Bey  at  all.  There  were  merchants  of  ours  in 
the  Crimea ;  they  said  that  some  there  were  giving  out, 
'  There  is  a  son  of  Tugai  Bey,'  and  the  people  were  roused ; 
others  said,  '  There  is  not,'  and  the  people  were  restrained. 
But  if  it  should  go  out  that  your  grace  calls  them  to 
freedom,  land,  and  service,  swarms  would  move.  Only  let 
it  be  free  for  me  to  speak." 

Azya's  face  grew  bright  from  satisfaction,  and  he  began 
to  walk  with  great  strides  up  and  down  in  the  room ;  then 
he  said,  "  Be  in  good  health,  Halim,  under  my  roof.  Sit 
down  and  eat." 

"  I  am  your  servant  and  dog,  Effendi,"  said  the  old  Tartar. 

Azya  clapped  his  hands,  whereupon  a  Tartar  orderly  came 
in,  and,  hearing  the  command,  brought  refreshments  after 
a  time,  —  gorailka,  dried  meat,  bread,  sweetmeats,  and  some 
handfuls  of  dried  water-melon  seeds,  which,  with  sun- 
flower seeds,  are  a  tidbit  greatly  relished  by  Tartars. 

"  You  are  a  friend,  not  a  servant,"  said  Azya,  when  the 
orderly  retired.  "  Be  well,  for  you  bring  good  news ;  sit 
and  eat." 

Halim  began  to  eat,  and  until  he  had  finished,  they  said 
nothing;  but  he  refreshed  himself  quickly,  and  began  to 
glance  at  Azya,  waiting  till  he  should  speak. 

"They  know  here  now  who  I  am,"  said  Azya,  at  length. 

"  And  what,  Effendi  ?  " 

"  Nothing.  They  respect  me  still  more.  When  it  came 
to  work,  I  had  to  tell  them  anyhow.  But  I  delayed,  for  I 
was  waiting  for  news  from  the  horde,  and  I  wished  the 
hetman  to  know  first;  but  Novoveski  came,  and  he 
recognized  me." 

"  The  young  one  ?  "  asked  Halim,  with  fear. 

"  The  old,  not  the  young  one.  Allah  has  sent  them  all 
to  me  here,  for  the  maiden  is  here.  The  Evil  Spirit  must 
have  entered  them.  Only  let  me  become  hetman,  I  will 
play  with  them.  They  are  giving  me  the  maiden ;  very 
well,  slaves  are  needed  in  the  harem." 

"  Is  the  old  man  giving  her  ?  " 

"No.  She  —  she  thinks  that  I  love,  not  her,  but  the 
other." 

"Effendi,"  said  Halim, bowing,  "I  am  the  slave  of  your 
house,  arid  I  have  not  the  right  to  speak  before  your  face ; 
but  I  recognized  you  among  the  Lithuanian  Tartars ;  I  told 
you  at  Bratslav  who  you  are ;  and  from  that  time  I  serve 


PAN  MICHAEL.  265 

you  faithfully.  I  tell  others  that  they  are  to  look  on  you  as 
master ;  but  though  they  love  you,  no  one  loves  you  as  I 
do :  is  it  free  for  me  to  speak  ?  " 

"  Speak." 

"Be  on  your  guard  against  the  little  knight.  He  is 
famous  in  the  Crimea  and  the  Dobrudja." 

"And,  Halim,  have  you  heard  of  Hmelnitski  ?  " 

"I  have,  and  I  served  Tugai  Bey,  who  warred  with 
Hmelnitski  against  the  Poles,  ruined  castles,  and  took 
property." 

"And  do  you  know  that  Hmelnitski  took  Chaplinski's 
wife  from  him,  married  her  himself,  and  had  children  by  her  ? 
What  then  ?  There  was  war ;  and  all  the  troops  of  the 
hetmans  and  the  king  and  the  Commonwealth  did  not  take 
her  from  Hmelnitski.  He  beat  the  hetmans  and  the  king 
and  the  Commonwealth ;  and  besides  that,  he  was  hetman 
of  the  Cossacks.  And  I,  —  what  shall  I  be  ?  Hetman  of 
the  Tartars.  They  must  give  me  plenty  of  land,  and  some 
town  as  capital ;  around  the  town  villages  will  rise  on  rich 
land,  and  in  the  villages  good  men  with  sabres,  many  bows 
and  many  sabres.  And  when  I  carry  her  away  to  my  town, 
and  have  her  for  wife,  the  beauty,  with  whom  will  the 
power  be  ?  With  me.  Who  will  demand  her  ?  The  little 
knight,  —  if  he  be  alive.  Even  should  he  be  alive,  and  howl 
like  a  wolf  and  beat  with  his  forehead  to  the  king  with 
complaint,  do  you  think  that  they  would  raise  war  with  me 
for  one  bright  tress  ?  They  have  had  such  a  war  already, 
and  half  the  Commonwealth  was  flaming  with  fire.  Who 
will  take  her  ?  Is  it  the  hetman  ?  Then  I  will  join  the 
Cossacks,  will  conclude  brotherhood  with  Doroshenko,  and 
give  the  country  over  to  the  Sultan.  I  am  a  second 
Hmelnitski ;  I  am  better  than  Hmelnitski :  in  me  a  lion 
is  dwelling.  Let  them  permit  me  to  take  her,  I  will  serve 
them,  beat  the  Cossacks,  beat  the  Khan,  and  beat  the 
Sultan  ;  but  if  not,  I  will  trample  all  Lehistan 1  with  hoofs, 
take  hetmans  captive,  scatter  armies,  burn  towns,  slay 
people.  I  am  Tugai  Bey's  son ;  I  am  a  lion." 

Here  Azya's  eyes  blazed  with  a  red  light;  his  white 
teeth  glittered  like  those  of  old  Tugai ;  he  raised  his  hand 
and  shook  his  threatening  fist  toward  the  north,  and  he  was 
great  and  terrible  and  splendid,  so  that  Haliin  bowed  to  him 
repeatedly,  and  said  hurriedly,  in  a  low  voice,  — 

1  Poland 


266  PAN  MICHAEL. 

"  Allah  kerim  !     Allah  kerim  !  "  1 

Then  silence  continued  for  a  long  time.  Azya  grew  calm 
by  degrees ;  at  last  he  said,  "  Bogush  came  here.  I  revealed 
to  him  my  strength  and  resource ;  namely,  to  have  in  the 
Ukraine,  at  the  side  of  the  Cossack  nation,  a  Tartar  nation, 
and  besides  the  Cossack  hetman  a  Tartar  hetman." 

"  Did  he  approve  it  ?  " 

"  He  seized  himself  by  the  head,  and  almost  beat  with  the 
forehead ;  next  day  he  galloped  off  Jbo  the  hetman  with  the 
happy  news." 

•     "  Effendi,"  said  Halim,  timidly,  "  but  if  the  Great  Lion 
should  not  approve  it  ?  " 

"  Sobieski  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

A  ruddy  light  began  to  gleam  again  in  Azya's  eyes  ;  but 
it  remained  only  during  one  twinkle.  His  face  grew  calm 
immediately ;  then  he  sat  on  a  bench,  and  resting  his  head 
on  his  hands,  fell  into  deep  thought. 

"I  have  weighed  in  my  mind,"  said  he,  at  last,  "what 
the  grand  hetman  may  answer  when  Bogush  gives  him  the 
happy  news.  The  hetman  is  wise,  and  will  consent.  The 
hetman  knows  that  in  spring  there  will  be  war  with  the 
Sultan,  for  which  there  are  neither  men  nor  money  in  the 
Commonwealth ;  and  when  Doroshenko  and  the  Cossacks 
are  on  the  side  of  the  Sultan,  final  destruction  may  come  on 
Lehistau,  —  and  all  the  more  that  neither  the  king  nor  the 
estates  believe  that  there  will  be  war,  and  are  not  hurrying 
to  prepare  for  it.  I  have  an  attentive  ear  here  on  every- 
thing;  I  know  all,  and  Bogush  makes  no  secret  before  me 
of  what  they  say  at  the  hetman's  headquarters.  Pan  Sobi- 
eski is  a  great  man ;  he  will  consent,  for  he  knows  that  if 
the  Tartars  come  here  for  freedom  and  land,  a  civil  war  may 
spring  up  in  the  Crimea  and  the  steppes  of  the  Dobrudja, 
that  the  strength  of  the  horde  will  decrease,  and  that  the 
Sultan  himself  must  see  to  quieting  those  outbreaks. 
Meanwhile,  the  hetman  will  have  time  to  prepare  himself 
better ;  the  Cossacks  and  Doroshenko  will  waver  in  loyalty 
to  the  Sultan.  This  is  the  only  salvation  for  the  Common- 
wealth, which  is  so  weak  that  even  the  return  of  a  few 
thousand  Lithuanian  Tartars  means  much  for  it.  The  het- 
man knows  this  ;  he  is  wise,  he  will  consent." 

"  I   bow   before   your   reason,"   answered  Halim  ;  "  but 

1  God  is  merciful !  God  is  merciful ! 


PAN   MICHAEL.  267 

what  will  happen  if  Allah  takes  from  the  Great  Lion  his 
light,  or  if  Satan  so  blinds  him  with  pride  that  he  will 
reject  your  plans  ?  " 

Azya  pushed  his  wild  face  up  to  Halim's  ear,  and  whis- 
pered, "  You  remain  here  now  until  the  answer  comes  from 
the  hetman ;  and  till  then  I  will  not  go  to  Rashkoff.  If  they 
reject  my  plans,  I  will  send  you  to  Krychinski  and  the 
others.  You  will  give  them  the  order  to  advance  to  this 
side  of  the  river  almost  up  to  Hreptyoff,  and  to  be  in  readi- 
ness ;  and  I  with  rny  men  here  will  fall  on  the  command 
the  first  night  I  choose,  and  do  this  for  them  — "  Here 
Azya  drew  his  finger  across  his  neck,  and  after  a  while 
added,  "  Fate,  fate,  fate  !  " 

Halim  thrust  his  head  down  between  his  shoulders,  and 
on  his  beast-like  face  an  ominous  smile  appeared.  "Allah  ! 
And  that  to  the  Little  Falcon?" 

"  That  to  him  first." 

"  And  then  to  the  Sultan's  dominions  ?  " 

"  To  the  Sultan's  dominions,  —  with  her." 


268  PAN  MICHAEL. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

A  FIERCE  winter  covered  the  forests  with  heavy  snow- 
clusters  and  icicles,  and  filled  ravines  to  their  edges  with 
drifts,  so  that  the  whole  land  seemed  a  single  white  plain. 
Great,  sudden  storms  came,  in  which  men  and  herds  were 
lost  under  the  pall  of  snow;  roads  grew  misleading  and 
perilous:  still,  Pan  Bogush  hastened  with  all  his  power  to 
Yavorov  to  communicate  Azya's  great  plans  to  the  hetman 
as  quickly  as  possible.  A  noble  of  the  border,  reared  in 
continual  clanger  of  Cossacks  and  Tartars,  penetrated  with 
the  thought  of  perils  which  threatened  the  country  from 
insurrections,  from  raids,  from  the  whole  power  of  the  Turks, 
he  saw  in  those  plans  almost  the  salvation  of  the  country; 
he  believed  sacredly  that  the  hetman,  held  in  homage  by 
him,  and  by  all  men  of  the  frontier,  would  not  hesitate  a 
moment  when  it  was  a  question  of  the  power  of  the  Common- 
wealth :  hence  he  rode  forward  with  joy  in  his  heart,  in 
spite  of  snow-drifts,  wrong  roads,  and  tempests. 

He  dropped  in  at  last  on  a  Sunday,  together  with  snow, 
at  Yavorov,  and  having  the  good  fortune  to  find  Pan 
Sobieski  at  home,  announced  himself  straightway,  though 
attendants  informed  him  that  the  hetman,  busied  night  and 
day  with  expeditions  and  the  writing  of  despatches,  had 
barely  time  to  take  food.  But  beyond  expectation,  the  het- 
man gave  command  to  call  him  at  once.  Therefore,  after 
he  had  waited  only  a  short  time,  the  old  soldier  bowed  to 
the  knees  of  his  leader. 

He  found  Pan  Sobieski  changed  greatly,  and  with  a  face 
full  of  care;  for  those  were  well-nigh  the  most  grievous 
years  of  his  life.  His  name  had  not  thundered  yet  through 
every  corner  of  Christendom  ;  but  the  fame  of  a  great  leader 
and  a  terrible  crusher  of  the  Mussulman  encircled  him 
already  in  the  Commonwealth.  Owing  to  that  fame,  the 
grand  baton  was  confided  to  him  in  time,  and  the  defence 
of  the  eastern  boundary;  but  with  the  dignity  of  hetman 
they  had  given  him  neither  money  nor  men.  Still,  victory 
had  followed  his  steps  hitherto  as  faithfully  as  his  shadow 
follows  a  man.  With  a  handful  of  troops  he  had  won  vic- 
tory at  Podhaytse ;  with  a  handful  of  troops  he  had  passed 


PAN  MICHAEL  269 

like  a  flame  through  the  length  and  the  breadth  of  the 
Ukraine,  rubbing  into  dust  chambuls  of  many  thousands, 
capturing  insurgent  cities,  spreading  dread  and  terror  of 
the  Polish  name.  But  now  there  hung  over  the  Common- 
wealth a  war  with  the  most  terrible  of  the  powers  of  that 
period,  for  it  was  a  war  with  the  whole  Mussulman  world. 
It  was  no  longer  a  secret  for  Sobieski  that  since  Doroshenko 
had  given  up  the  Ukraine  and  the  Cossacks  to  the  Sultan, 
the  latter  had  promised  to  move  Turkey,  Asia  Minor, 
Arabia,  and  Egypt  as  far  as  the  interior  of  Africa,  to  pro- 
claim a  sacred  war.  and  go  in  his  own  person  to  demand  the 
new  "pashalik"1  from  the  Commonwealth.  Destruction, 
like  a  bird  of  prey,  was  floating  over  all  Southern  Russia, 
and  meanwhile  there  was  disorder  in  the  Commonwealth; 
the  nobles  were  uproarious  in  defence  of  their  incompetent 
king,  and,  assembled  in  armed  camps,  were  ready  for  civil 
war,  if  for  any.  The  country,  exhausted  by  recent  conflicts 
and  military  confederations,  had  become  impoverished ;  envy 
was  storming  in  it ;  mutual  distrust  was  rankling  in  men's 
hearts. 

No  one  wished  to  believe  that  war  with  the  Mussulman 
power  was  imminent ;  and  they  condemned  the  great  leader 
for  spreading  news  about  it  purposely  to  turn  men's  minds 
from  home  questions.  He  was  condemned  greatly  for  this 
also, — that  he  was  ready  himself  to  call  in  the  Turks,  if  only 
to  secure  victory  to  his  adherents.  They  made  him  simply 
a  traitor ;  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  army,  they  would  not 
have  hesitated  to  impeach  him. 

In  view  of  the  approaching  war,  to  which  thousands  of 
legions  of  wild  people  would  march  from  the  East,  he  was 
without  an  army,  —  he  had  merely  a  handful,  so  small  that 
the  Sultan's  court  counted  more  servants ;  he  was  without 
money,  without  means  of  repairing  the  ruined  fortresses, 
without  hope  of  victory,  without  possibility  of  defence, 
without  the  conviction  that  his  death,  as  formerly  the 
death .  of  Jolkyevski,  would  rouse  the  torpid  country  and 
give  birth  to  an  avenger.  That  was  the  reason  that  care 
had  settled  on  his  forehead  ;  and  the  lordly  countenance,  like 
that  of  a  Roman  conqueror  with  a  forehead  in  laurels, 
bore  traces  of  hidden  pain  and  sleepless  nights.  But  at 
sight  of  Bogush  a  kindly  smile  brightened  the  face  of  the 

1  The  territory  governed  by  a  pasha,  in  this  case  the  lands  of  the 
Cossacks. 


270  PAN  MICHAEL. 

hetman ;  he  placed  his  hands  on  the  shoulders  of  the  man 
inclining  before  him,  and  said,  — 

"  I  greet  you,  soldier,  I  greet  you !  I  had  not  hoped  to 
see  you  so  soon ;  but  you  are  the  dearer  to  me  in  Yavorov. 
Whence  do  you  come,  —  from  Kamenyets  ?  " 

"No,  serene,  great,  mighty  lord  hetman,  I  have  not  even 
been  at  Kamenyets.  I  come  straightway  from  Hreptyoff." 

"  What  is  my  little  soldier  doing  there  ?  Is  he  well,  and 
has  he  cleared  the  wilds  of  Ushytsa  even  somewhat  ?  " 

"The  wilds  are  so  peaceful  that  a  child  might  pass 
through  them  in  safety.  The  robbers  are  hanged,  and  in 
these  last  days  Azba  Bey  with  his  whole  party  was  cut  to 
pieces,  so  that  even  a  witness  of  the  slaxighter  was  not  left. 
I  arrived  there  on  the  very  day  of  their  destruction." 

"I  recognize  Volodyovski :  .Rushchyts  in  Kashkoff  is  the 
only  man  who  may  compare  with  him.  But  what  do  they 
say  in  the  steppes  ?  Are  there  fresh  tidings  from  the 
Danube  ?  " 

"  There  are,  but  of  evil.  There  is  to  be  a  great  muster 
of  troops  at  Adrianople  in  the  last  days  of  winter." 

"  I  know  that  already.  There  are  no  tidings  now  save  of 
evil,  —  evil  from  the  Commonwealth,  evil  from  the  Crimea 
and  from  Stambul." 

"  But  not  altogether,  for  I  myself  bring  such  good  tidings 
that  if  I  were  a  Turk  or  a  Tartar  I  should  surely  mention 
a  present." 

"  Well,  then,  you  have  fallen  from  heaven  to  me.  Come, 
speak  quickly,  dispel  my  anxiety  ! " 

"  But  if  I  am  so  frozen,  your  great  mightiness,  that  the 
wit  has  stiffened  in  my  head  ?  " 

The  hetman  clapped  his  hands,  and  commanded  an  atten- 
dant to  bring  mead.  After  a  while  they  brought  in  a  mouldy 
decanter,  and  candlesticks  with  burning  tapers,  for  though 
the  hour  was  still  early,  snowy  clouds  had  made  the  air  so 
gloomy  that  outside,  as  well  as  in  the  house,  it  was  like 
nightfall. 

The  hetman  poured  out  and  drank  to  his  guest ;  the  latter, 
bowing  low,  emptied  his  glass,  and  said :  "  The  first  news  is 
this,  that  Azya,  who  was  to  bring  back  to  our  service  the 
captains  of  the  Lithuanian  Tartars  and  the  Cheremis,  is  not 
called  Mellehovich,  he  is  a  son  of  Tugai  Bey." 

"Of  Tugai  Bey?"  asked  Pan  Sobieski,  with  amazement. 

"Thus  it  is,  your  great  mightiness.  It  has  come  out 
that  Pan  Nyenashinyets  carried  him  away  from  the  Crimea 


PAN  MICHAEL.  271 

while  a  child,  but  lost  him  on  the  road  home ;  and  Azya, 
falling  into  possession  of  the  Novoveskis,  was  reared  at 
their  house  without  knowing  that  he  was  descended  from 
such  a  father." 

"It  was  a  wonder  to  me  that  he,  though  so  young,  was 
held  in  such  esteem  among  the  Tartars.  But  now  I  under- 
stand ;  and  the  Cossacks  too,  even  those  who  have  remained 
faithful  to  the  mother,1  consider  Hmelnitski  as  a  kind  of 
saint,  and  are  proud  of  him." 

"  That  is  just  it,  just  it ;  I  told  Azya  the  same  thing," 
said  Pan  Bogush. 

"  Wonderful  are  the  ways  of  God,"  said  the  hetman,  after 
ft,  while ;  "  old  Tugai  shed  rivers  of  blood  in  our  country,  and 
his  son  is  serving  it,  —  at  least  he  serves  it  faithfully  so  far ; 
but  now  I  do  not  know  whether  he  will  not  wish  to  taste 
Crimean  greatness." 

"  Now  ?  Now  he  is  still  more  faithful ;  and  here  my 
second  tidings  begin,  in  which  it  may  be  that  strength  and 
resource  and  salvation  for  the  suffering  Commonwealth  are 
contained.  So  help  me  God,  I  forgot  fatigue  and  danger  in 
view  of  these  tidings,  so  as  to  let  them  out  of  my  lips  at 
the  earliest  moment,  and  console  your  troubled  heart." 

"  I  am  listening  eagerly,"  said  Pan  Sobieski. 

Bogush  began  to  explain  Azya's  plans,  and  presented 
them  with  such  enthusiasm  that  he  grew  really  eloquent. 
From  time  to  time  his  hand,  trembling  from  emotion,  poured 
out  a  glass  of  mead,  spilling  the  noble  drink  over  the  rim ; 
and  he  spoke  and  spoke  on.  Before  the  astonished  eyes  of 
the  grand  hetman  passed  as  it  were  clear  pictures  of  the 
future ;  therefore  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  of  Tar- 
tars came  for  land  and  freedom,  bringing  their  wives  and 
children  and  their  herds  ;  therefore  the  astonished  Cossacks, 
seeing  the  new  power  of  the  Commonwealth,  bowed  down 
to  it  obediently,  bowed  down  to  the  king  and  the  hetman; 
hence  there  was  rebellion  in  the  Ukraine  no  longer ;  hence 
raids,  destructive  as  fire  or  flood,  were  advancing  no  longer 
on  the  old  roads  against  Russia, — but  at  the  side  of  the 
Polish  and  the  Cossack  armies  moved  over  the  measureless 
steppes,  with  the  playing  of  trumpets  and  the  rattle  of 
drums,  chambuls  of  Tartars,  nobles  of  the  Ukraine. 

And  for  whole  years  carts  after  carts  were  advancing, 
and  in  them,  in  spite  of  the  commands  of  Khan  and  Sultan, 

1  The  Commonwealth. 


272  PAN  MICHAEL. 

were  multitudes  who  preferred  the  black  land  of  the 
Ukraine  and  bread  to  their  former  hungry  settlements. 
And  the  power,  hostile  aforetime,  was  moving  to  the  ser- 
vice of  the  Commonwealth.  The  Crimea  became*  depopu- 
lated ;  their  former  power  slipped  out  of  the  hands  of  the 
Khan  and  the  Sultan,  and  dread  seized  them;  for  from  the 
steppes,  from  the  Ukraine,  the  new  hetman  of  a  new  Tartar 
nobility  looked  threateningly  into  their  eyes, — a  guardian 
and  faithful  defender  of  the  Commonwealth,  the  renowned 
son  of  a  terrible  father,  young  Tugai  Bey. 

A  flush  came  out  on  the  countenance  of  Bogush ;  it 
seemed  that  his  own  words  bore  him  away,  for  at  the  enc]. 
he  raised  both  hands  and  cried,  — 

"  This  is  what  I  bring  !  This  is  what  that  dragon's  whelp 
has  brooded  out  in  the  wild  woods  of  Hreptyoff !  All  that 
is  needed  now  is  to  give  him  a  letter  and  permission  from 
your  great  mightiness  to  spread  a  report  in  the  Crimea  and 
on  the  Danube.  Your  great  mightiness,  if  Tugai  Bey's  son 
were  to  do  nothing  except  to  make  an  uproar  in  the  Crimea 
and  on  the  Danube,  to  cause  misunderstandings,  to  rouse 
the  hydra  of  civil  war  among  the  Tartars,  to  embroil  some 
camps  against  others,  and  that  on  the  eve  of  conflict,  I 
repeat,  he  would  render  a  great  and  undying  service  to  the 
Commonwealth." 

But  Pan  Sobieski  walked  back  and  forth  with  long  strides 
through  the  room,  without  speaking.  His  lordly  face  was 
gloomy,  almost  terrible ;  he  strode,  and  it  was  to  be  seen 
that  he  was  conversing  in  his  soul, — unknown  whether 
with  himself  or  with  God. 

At  last  thou  didst  open  some  page  in  thy  soul,  grand 
hetman,  for  thou  gavest  answer  in  these  words  to  the 
speaker : — 

"Bogush,  even  if  I  had  the  right  to  give  such  a  letter  and 
such  permission,  while  I  live  I  should  not  give  them." 

These  words  fell  as  heavily  as  if  they  had  been  of  molten 
lead  or  iron,  and  weighed  so  on  Bogush  that  for  a  time  he 
was  dumb,  hung  his  head,  and  only  after  a  long  interval  did 
he  groan  out,  — 

"  Why,  your  great  mightiness,  why  ?  " 

"  First,  I  will  tell  you,  as  a  statesman,  that  the  name  of 
Tugai  Bey's  son  might  attract,  it  is  true,  a  certain  number 
of  Tartars,  if  land,  liberty,  and  the  rights  of  nobility  were 
offered  them  ;  but  not  so  many  would  come  as  he  and  you 
have  imagined.  And,  besides,  it  would  be  an  act  of  mad- 


PAN   MICHAEL.  273 

ness  to  call  Tartars  to  the  Ukraine,  and  settle  new  people 
there,  when  we  cannot  manage  the  Cossacks  alone.  You 
say  that  disputes  and  war  will  rise  among  them  at  once, 
that  there  will  be  a  sword  ready  for  the  Cossack  neck;  but 
who  will  assure  you  that  that  sword  would  not  be  stained 
with  Polish  blood  also  ?  I  have  not  known  this  Azya, 
hitherto ;  but  now  I  perceive  that  the  dragon  of  pride  and 
ambition  inhabits  his  breast,  therefore  I  ask  again,  who  will 
guarantee  that  there  is  not  in  him  a  second  Hmelnitski  ? 
He  will  beat  the  Cossacks  ;  but  if  the  Commonwealth  shall 
fail  to  satisfy  him  in  something,  and  threaten  him  with 
justice  and  punishment  for  some  act  of  violence,  he  will 
join  the  Cossacks,  summon  new  hordes  from  the  East,  as 
Hmelnitski  summoned  Tugai  Bey,  give-  himself  to  the 
Sultan,  as  Doroshenko  has  done,  and,  instead  of  a  new 
growth  of  power,  new  bloodshed  and  defeats  will  come  on 
us." 

"  Your  great  mightiness,;  the  Tartars,  when  they  have 
become  nobles,  will  hold  faithfully  to  the  Commonwealth." 

"  Were  there  few  of  the  Lithuanian  Tartars  and  Cheremis? 
They  were  nobles  a  long  time,  and  went  over  to  the  Sultan." 

"Their  privileges  were  withheld  from  the  Lithuanian 
Tartars." 

"  But  what  will  happen  if,  to  begin  with,  the  Polish 
nobles,  as  is  certain,  oppose  such  an  extension  of  their 
rights  to  others  ?  With  what  face,  with  what  conscience, 
will  you  give  to  wild  and  predatory  hordes,  who  have  been 
destroying  our  country  continually,  the  power  and  the  right 
to  determine  the  fate  of  that  country,  to  choose  kings,  and 
send  deputies  to  the  diets  ?  Why  give  them  such  a  reward  ? 
What  madness  has  come  to  the  head  of  this  Tartar,  and 
what  evil  spirit  seized  you,  my  old  soldier,  to  let  yourself 
be  so  beguiled  and  seduced  as  to  believe  in  such  dishonor 
and  such  an  impossibility  ?  " 

Bogush  dropped  his  eyes,  and  said  with  an  uncertain 
voice :  — 

"  I  knew  beforehand  that  the  estates  would  oppose  ;  but 
Azya  said  that  if  the  Tartars  were  to  settle  with  permission 
of  your  great  mightiness,  they  would  not  let  themselves  be 
driven  out." 

"  Man  !  Why,  he  threatened,  he  shook  his  sword  over 
the  Commonwealth,  and  you  did  not  see  it ! " 

"  Your  great  mightiness,"  said  Bogus!),  in  despair,  "  it 
might  be  arranged  not  to  make  all  the  Tartars  nobles,  only 

it 


274  PAN  MICHAEL. 

the  most  considerable,  and  proclaim  the  rest  free  men. 
Even  in  that  situation  they  would  answer  the  summons  of 
Tugai  Bey's  son." 

"  But  why  is  it  not  better  to  proclaim  all  the  Cossacks 
free  men  ?  Cease,  old  soldier  !  I  tell  you  that  an  evil  spirit 
has  taken  possession  of  you." 

"Your  great  mightiness  — " 

"And  I  say  further,"  here  Pan  Sobieski  wrinkled  his  lion- 
like  forehead  and  his  eyes  gleamed,  "even  if  everything 
were  to  happen  as  you  say,  even  if  our  power  were  to 
increase  through  this  action,  even  if  war  with  Turkey  were 
to  be  averted,  even  if  the  nobles  themselves  were,  to  call 
for  it,  still,  while  this  hand  of  mine  wields  a  sabre  and 
can  make  the  sign  of  the  cross,  never  and  never  will  I 
permit  such  a  thing  !  So  help  me  God  ! " 

"  Why,  your  great  mightiness  ?  "  repeated  Bogush,  wring- 
ing his  hands. 

"  Because  I  am  not  only  a  Polish  hetman,  but  a  Christian 
hetman,  for  I  stand  in  defence  of  the  Cross.  And  even  if 
those  Cossacks  were  to  tear  the  entrails  of  the  Common- 
wealth more  cruelly  than  ever,  I  will  not  cut  the  necks 
of  a  blinded  but  still  Christian  people  with  the  swords  of 
Pagans.  For  by  doing  so  I  should  say  '  raca '  to  our 
fathers  and  grandfathers,  to  my  own  ancestors,  to  their 
ashes,  to  the  blood  and  tears  of  the  whole  past  Common- 
wealth. As  God  is  true !  if  destruction  is  waiting  for  us, 
if  our  name  is  to  be  the  name  of  a  dead  and  not  of  a  living 
people,  let  our  glory  remain  behind  and  a  memory  of  that 
service  which  God  pointed  out  to  us  ;  let  people  who  come  in 
after  time  say,  when  looking  at  those  crosses  and  tombs : 
*  Here  is  Christianity ;  here  they  defended  the  Cross  against 
Mohammedan  foulness,  while  there  was  breath  in  their 
breasts,  while  the  blood  was  in  their  veins ;  and  they  died 
for  other  nations.'  This  is  our  service,  Bogush.  Behold, 
we  are  the  fortress  oil  which  Christ  fixed  His  crucifix,  and 
you  tell  me,  a  soldier  of  God,  nay,  the  commander  of  the 
fortress,  to  be  the  first  to  open  the  gate  and  let  in  Pagans, 
like  wolves  to  a  sheep-fold,  and  give  the  sheep,  the  flock  of 
Jesus,  to  slaughter.  Better  for  us  to  suffer  from  chanibuls ; 
better  for  us  to  endure  rebellions;  better  for  us  to  go  to  this 
terrible  war;  better  for  me  and  you  to  fall,  and  for  the 
whole  Commonwealth  to  perish,  —  than  to  put  disgrace  on 
our  name,  to  lose  our  fame,  and  betray  that  guardianship 
and  that  service  of  God." 


PAN  MICHAEL.  275 

When  he  had  said  this,  Pan  Sobieski  stood  erect  in  all  his 
grandeur;  on  his  face  there  was  a  radiance  such  as  must 
have  been  on  that  of  Godfrey  de  Bouillon  when  he  burst  in 
over  the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  shouting,  "  God  wills  it ! "  Pan 
Bogush  seemed  to  himself  dust  before  those  words,  and 
Azya  seemed  to  him  dust  before  Pan  Sobieski,  and  the  fiery 
plans  of  the  young  Tartar  grew  black  and  became  suddenly 
in  the  eyes  of  Bogush  something  dishonest  and  altogether 
infamous.  For  what  could  he  say  after  the  statement  of 
the  hetman  that  it  was  better  to  fall  than  to  betray  the  ser- 
vice of  God  ?  What  argument  could  he  bring  ?  Therefore 
he  did  not  know,  poor  knight,  whether  to  fall  at  the  knees 
of  the  hetman,  or  to  beat  his  own  breast,  repeating,  "Mea 
culpa,  mea  maxima  culpa." 

But  at  that  moment  the  sound  of  bells  was  given  out  from 
the  neighboring  Dominican  monastery. 

Hearing  this,  Pan  Sobieski  said,  — 

"  They  are  sounding  for  vespers,  Bogush  j  let  us  go  and 
commit  ourselves  to  God." 


276  PAN   MICHAEL. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

As  much  as  Pan  Bogush  hastened  when  going  from  Hrep- 
tyoff  to  the  hetman,  so  much  did  he  loiter  on  the  way  back. 
He  halted  a  week  or  two  in  each  more  considerable  place  ; 
he  spent  Christmas  in  Lvoff,  and  the  New  Year  came  on  him 
there.  He  carried,  it  is  true,  the  hetman's  instructions  for 
the  son  of  Tugai  Bey;  but  they  contained  merely  injunc- 
tions to  finish  the  affair  of  the  captains  promptly,  and  a  dry 
and  even  threatening  command  to  leave  his  great  plans. 
Pan  Bogush  had  no  reason  to  push  on,  for  Azya  could  do 
nothing  among  the  Tartars  without  a  document  from  the 
hetman.  He  loitered,  therefore,  visiting  churches  along 
the  road,  and  doing  penance  because  he  had  joined  Azya's 
plans. 

Meanwhile  guests  had  swarmed  into  Hreptyoff  immedi- 
ately after  the  New  Year.  From  Kamenyets  came  Navi- 
ragh,  a  delegate  from  the  patriarch  of  Echmiadzin,  with 
him  the  two  Anardrats,  skilful  theologians  from  Kaffa, 
and  a  numerous  retinue.  The  soldiers  wondered  greatly  at 
the  strange  garments  of  these  men,  at  the  violet  and  red 
Crimean  caps,  long  shawls,  velvet  and  silk,  at  their  dark 
faces,  and  the  great  gravity  with  which  they  strode,  like 
bustards  or  cranes,  through  the  Hreptyoff  stanitsa.  Pan 
Zaharyash  Pyotrovich,  famed  for  his  continual  journeys  to 
the  Crimea,  nay,  to  Tsargrad  itself,  and  still  more  for  the 
eagerness  with  which  he  sought  out  and  ransomed  captives 
in  the  markets  of  the  East,  accompanied,  as  interpreter, 
Naviragh  and  the  Anardrats.  Pan  Volodyovski  counted 
out  to  him  at  once  the  sum  needful  to  ransom  Pan  Boski ; 
and  since  the  wife  had  not  money  sufficient,  he  gave  from 
his  own  ;  Basia  added  her  ear-rings  with  pearls,  so  as  to 
aid  more  efficiently  the  suffering  lady  and  her  charming 
daughter.  Pan  Seferovich,  pretor  of  Kamenyets,  came 
also,  —  a  rich  Armenian  whose  brother  was  groaning  in 
Tartar  bonds,  —  and  two  women,  still  young  and  of  beauty 
far  from  inconsiderable,  though  somewhat  dark,  Pani 
Neresevich  and  Pani  Kyeremovich.  Both  were  concerned 
for  their  captive  husbands. 


PAN  MICHAEL.  L'77 

The  guests  were  for  the  greater  part  in  trouble,  but 
there  \ver.e  joyous  ones  also.  Father  Kaminski  had  sent, 
to  remain  for  the  carnival  at  Hreptyoff,  under  Basia's  pro- 
tection, his  niece  Paima  Kaminski ;  and  on  a  certain  day 
Pan  Novoveski  the  younger  —  that  is,  Pan  Adam  — burst 
iu  like  a  thunderbolt.  When  he  had  heard  of  the  arrival 
of  his  lather  .at  Hreptyoff  he  obtained  leave  at  once  from 
1'an  Rushchyts,  and  hastened  to  meet  him. 

Pan  Adam  had  changed  greatly  during  the  last  few 
years ;  first  of  all,  his  upper  lip  was  shaded  thickly  by  a 
short  mustache,  which  did  not  cover  his  teeth,  white  as  a 
wolf's  teeth,  but  was  handsome  and  twisted.  Secondly,  the 
young  man,  always  stalwart,  had  now  become  almost  a 
giant.  It  seemed  that  such  a  dense  and  bushy  forelock 
could  grow  only  on  such  an  enormous  head,  and  such  an 
enormous  head  could  find  needful  support  only  on  fabulous 
shoulders.  His  face,  always  dark,  was  swarthy  from  the 
winds ;  his  eyes  were  gleaming  like  coals  ;  defiance  was  as 
if  written  on  his  features.  When  he  seized  a  large  apple 
he  hid  it  so  easily  in  his  powerful  palm  that  he  could  play 
"  guess  which  one ;  "  and  when  lie  put  a  handful  of  nuts  on 
his  knee  and  pressed  them  with  his  hand  he  made  snuff  of 
them.  Everything  in  him  went  to  strength ;  still  he  was 
lean,  —  his  stomach  was  receding,  but  the  chest  above  it 
was  as  roomy  as  a  chapel.  He  broke  horseshoes  with  ease, 
he  tied  iron  rods  around  the  necks  of  soldiers,  he  seemed 
even  larger  than  he  was  in  reality ;  when  he  walked, 
planks  creaked  under  him  ;  and  when  he  stumbled  against 
a  bench,  he  knocked  splinters  from  it. 

In  a  word,  he  was  a  man  in  a  hundred,  in  whom  life, 
daring,  and  strength  were  boiling,  as  water  in  a  caldron. 
Not  being  able  to  find  room,  in  even  such  an  enormous 
body,  it  seemed  that  he  had  a  flame  in  his  breast  and  his 
head,  and  involuntarily  one  looked  to  see  if  his  forelock 
were  not  steaming.  In  fact,  it  steamed  sometimes,  for  he 
was  good  at  the  goblet.  To  battle  he  went  with  a  laugh 
which  recalled  the  neighing  of  a  charger  ;  and  he  hewed  in 
such  fashion  that  when  each  engagement  was  over  soldiers 
went  to  examine  the  bodies  left  by  him,  and  wonder  at  his 
astonishing  blows.  Accustomed,  moreover,  from  childhood 
to  the  steppe,  to  watchfulness  and  war,  he  was  careful  and 
foreseeing  in  spite  of  all  his  vehemence ;  he  knew  every 
Tartar  stratagem,  and,  after  Volodyovski  and  Rushchyts, 
was  deemed  the  best  partisan  leader. 


278  PAN  MICHAEL. 

Iu  spite  of  threats  and  promises,  old  Novoveski  did  not 
receive  his  son  very  harshly ;  for  he  feared  lest  .he  might 
go  away  again  if  offended,  and  not  show  himself  for  an- 
other eleven  years.  Besides,  the  selfish  noble  was  satisfied 
at  heart  with  that  son  who  had  taken  no  money  from  home, 
who  had  helped  himself  thoroughly  in  the  world,  won  glory 
among  his  comrades,  the  favor  of  the  hetman,  and  the  rank 
of  an  officer,  which  no  one  else  could  have  struggled  to  with- 
out protection.  The  father  considered  that  this  young  man, 
grown  wild  in  the  steppes,  might  jiot  bend  before  the  im- 
portance of  his  father,  and  in  such  a  case  it  was  not  best  to 
expose  it  to  the  test.  Therefore  the  son  fell  at  his  feet,  as 
was  proper ;  still  he  looked  into  his  eyes,  and  at  the  first 
reproach  he  answered  without  ceremony,  — 

"  Father,  you  have  blame  in  your  mouth,  but  at  heart  you 
are  glad,  and  with  reason.  I  have  incurred  no  disgrace,  — 
I  ran  away  to  the  squadron ;  besides,  I  am  a  noble." 

"  But  you  may  be  a  Mussulman,"  said  the  father,  "  since 
you  did  not  show  yourself  at  home  for  eleven  years." 

"  I  did  not  show  myself  through  fear  of  punishment, 
which  would  be  repugnant  to  my  rank  and  dignity  of  officer. 
I  waited  for  a  letter  of  pardon ;  I  saw  nothing  of  the  letter, 
you  saw  nothing  of  me." 

"But  are  you  not  afraid  at  present?" 

The  young  man  showed  his  white  teeth  with  a  smile. 
"  This  place  is  governed  by  military  power,  to  which  even 
the  power  of  a  father  must  yield.  Why  should  you  not,  my 
benefactor,  embrace  me,  for  you  have  a  hearty  desire  to 
do  so?" 

Saying  this,  he  opened  his  arms,  and  Pan  Novoveski  did 
not  know  himself  what  to  do.  Indeed,  he  could  not  quarrel 
with  that  son  who  went  out  of  the  house  a  lad,  and  returned 
now  a  mature  man  and  an  officer  surrounded  with  military 
renown.  And  this  and  that  flattered  greatly  the  fatherly 
pride  of  Pan  Nbvoveski ;  he  hesitated  only  out  of  regard  for 
his  personal  dignity. 

But  the  son  seized  him;  the  bones  of  the  old  noble 
cracked  in  the  bear-like  embrace,  and  this  touched  him 
completely. 

"  What  is  to  be  done  ?  "  cried  he,  panting.  "  He  feels,  the 
rascal,  that  he  is  sitting  on  his  own  horse,  and  is  not 
afraid.  'Pon  my  word !  if  I  were  at  home,  indeed  I  should 
not  be  so  tender ;  but  here,  what  can  I  do  ?  Well,  come  on 
again." 


PAN  MICHAEL.  279 

And  they  embraced  a  second  time,  after  which  the  young 
man  began  to  inquire  hurriedly  for  his  sister. 

"  I  gave  command  to  keep  her  aside  till  I  called  her," 
said  the  father;  "  the  girl  will  jump  almost  out  of  her  skin." 

"  For  God's  sake,  where  is  she  ? "  cried  the  son,  and 
opening  the  door  he  began  to  call  so  loudly  that  an  echo 
answered,  "Eva  !  Eva!"  from  the  walls. 

Eva,  who  was  waiting  in  the  next  chamber,  rushed  in  at 
once ;  but  she  was  barely  able  to  cry  "  Adam ! "  when 
strong  arms  seized  her  and  raised  her  from  the  floor.  The 
brother  had  loved  her  greatly  always ;  in  old  times,  while 
protecting  her  from  the  tyranny  of  their  father,  he  took  her 
faults  on  himself  frequently,  and  received  the  floggings  due 
her.  In  general  the  father  was  a  despot  at  home,  really 
cruel;  therefore  the  maiden  greeted  now  in  that  strong 
brother,  not  a  brother  merely,  but  her  future  refuge  and 
protection.  He  kissed  her  on  the  head,  on  the  eyes  and 
hands ;  at  times  he  held  her  at  arms'  length,  looked  into  her 
face,  and  cried  out  with  delight,  — 

"  A  splendid  girl,  as  God  is  dear  to  me !  "  Then  again, 
"  See  how  she  has  grown  !  A  stove,1  not  a  maiden !  " 

Her  eyes  were  laughing  at  him.  They  began  to  talk  then 
very  rapidly,  of  their  long  separation,  of  home  and  the 
wars.  Old  Pan  Novoveski  walked  around  them  and 
muttered.  The  son  made  a  great  impression  on  him  ;  but  at 
times  disquiet  touching  his  own  future  authority  seemed  to 
seize  him.  Those  were  the  days  of  great  parental  power, 
which  grew  to  boundless  preponderance  afterward ;  but  this 
son  was  that  partisan,  that  soldier  from  the  wild  stanitsas, 
who,  as  Pan  Nbvoveski  understood  at  once,  was  riding  on 
his  own  special  horse.  Pan  Novoveski  guarded  his  parental 
authority  jealously.  He  was  certain,  however,  that  his  son 
would  always  respect  him,  would  give  him  his  due;  but 
WQuld  he  yield  always  like  wax,  would  he  endure  everything 
as  he  had  endured  when  a  stripling  ?  "  Bah ! "  thought  the 
old  man,  "  if  I  make  up  my  mind  to  it,  I'll  treat  him  like  a 
stripling.  He  is  daring,  a  lieutenant ;  he  imposes  on  me,  as 
I  love  God."  To  finish  all,  Pan  Xovoveski  felt  that  his 
fatherly  affection  was  growing  each  minute,  and  that  he 
would  have  a  weakness  for  that  giant  of  a  son. 

Meanwhile  Eva  was  twittering  like  a  bird,  overwhelming 

1  That  means  as  tall  as  a  stove.  The  tile  or  porcelain  stoves  of  east- 
era  Europe  are  very  high. 


280  PAN  MICHAEL. 

her  brother  with  questions.  "  When  would  he  come  home ; 
and  would  n't  he  settle  down,  wouldn't  he  marry?"  She 
in  truth  does  not  know  clearly,  and  is  not  certain ;  but  as 
she  loves  her  father,  she  has  heard  that  soldiers  are  given 
to  falling  in  love.  But  now  she  remembers  that  it  was 
Paui  Volodyovski  who  said  so.  How  beautiful  and  kind 
she  is,  that,  Pani  Volodyovski !  A  more  beautiful  and 
better  is  not  to  be  found  in  all  Poland  with  a  candle.  Zosia 
Boski  alone  might,  perhaps,  be  compared  with  her. 

"  Who  is  Zosia  Boski  ?  "  asked  Pan  Adam. 

"  She  who  with  her  mother  is  stopping  here,  whose  father 
was  carried  off  by  the  Tartars.  If  you  see  her  yourself  you 
will  fall  in  love  with  her." 

"Give  us  Zosia  Boski ! "  cried  the  young  officer. 

The  father  and  Eva  laughed  at  such  readiness. 

"  Love  is  like  death,"  said  Pan  Adam :  "  it  misses  no  one. 
I  was  still  smooth-faced,  and  Pani  Volodyovski  was  a  young 
lady,  when  I  fell  terribly  in  love  with  her.  Oi !  dear  God  ! 
how  I  loved  that  Basia  !  But  what  of  it !  'I  will  tell  her 
so,'  thought  I.  I  told  her,  and  the  answer  was  as  if  some 
one  had  given  me  a  slap  in  the  face.  Shu,  cat  away  from 
the  milk !  She  was  in  love  with  Pan  Volodyovski,  it  seems, 
already  ;  but  what  is  the  use  in  talking  ?  —  she  was  right." 

"  Why  ?  "  asked  old  Pan  ISTovoveski. 

"Why  ?  This  is  why :  because  I,  without  boasting,  could 
meet  every  one  else  with  the  sabre  ;  but  he  would  not  amuse 
himself  with  me  while  you  could  say  'Our  Father '  twice. 
And  besides  he  is  a  partisan  beyond  compare,  before  whom 
Rushchyts  himself  would  take  off  his  cap.  What,  Pan 
Eushchy ts  ?  Even  the  Tartars  love  him.  He  is  the  greatest 
soldier  in  the  Commonwealth." 

"And  how  he  and  his  wife  love  each  other!  Ai,  ai! 
enough  to  make  your  eyes  ache  to  look  at  them,"  put  in 
Eva. 

"  Ai,  your  mouth  waters !  Your  mouth  waters,  for  your 
time  has  come  too,"  exclaimed  Pan  Adam.  And  putting 
his  hands  on  his  hips  he  began  to  nod  his  head,  as  a  horse 
does ;  but  she  answered  modestly,  — 

"  I  have  no  thought  of  it." 

"  Well,  there  is  no  lack  of  officers  and  pleasant  company 
here." 

"But,"  said  Eva,  "I  do  not  know  whether  father  has  told 
you  that  Azya  is  here." 

"  Azya  Mellehovich,  the  Lithuanian  Tartar  ?  I  know 
him  ;  he  is  a  good  soldier." 


PAN   MICHAEL.  281 

"  But  you  do  not  know,"  said  old  Pan  Novoveski,  "  that 
he  is  not  Mellehovich,  but  that  Azya  who  grew  up  with 
you." 

"  In  God's  name,  what  do  I  hear  ?  Just  think  !  Sometimes 
that  came  to  my  head  too ;  but  they  told  me  that  his  name 
was  Mellehovich,  therefore  I  thought,  '  Well,  he  is  not  the 
man.'  Azya  with  the  Tartars  is  a  universal  name.  I  had 
not  seen  him  for  so  many  years  that  I  was  not  certain. 
Our  Azya  was  rather  ugly  and  short,  and  this  one  is  a 
beauty." 

"  He  is  ours,  ours  !  "  said  old  Novoveski,  "  or  rather  not 
ours,  for  do  you  know  what  has  come  out,  whose  son  he 
is  ?" 

"  How  should  I  know  ?  " 

"  He  is  the  son  of  the  great  Tugai  Bey." 

The  young  man  struck  his  powerful  palms  on  his  knees 
till  the  sound  was  heard  through  the  house. 

"  I  cannot  believe  my  ears  !  Of  the  great  Tugai  Bey  ? 
If  that  is  true,  he  is  a  prince  and  a  relative  of  the  Khan. 
There  is  no  higher  blood  in  the  Crimea  than  Tugai  Bey's." 

"  It  is  the  blood  of  an  enemy  !  " 

"  It  was  that  in  the  father,  but  the  son  serves  us ;  I  have 
seen  him  myself  twenty  times  in  action.  Ha !  I  understand 
now  whence  comes  that  devilish  daring  in  him.  Pan 
Sobieski  distinguished  him  before  the  whole  army,  and 
made  him  a  captain.  I  am  glad  from  my  soul  to  greet 
him,  —  a  strong  soldier ;  from  my  whole  heart  I  will  greet 
him." 

"  But  be  not  too  familiar  with  him." 

"  Why  ?  Is  he  my  servant,  or  ours  ?  I  am  a  soldier, 
he  is  a  soldier;  I  am  an  officer,  he  is  an  officer.  If  he 
were  some  fellow  of  the  infantry  who  commands  his 
regiment  with  a  reed,  I  should  n't  have  a  word  to  say ; 
but  if  he  is  the  son  of  Tugai  Bey,  then  no  common  blood 
flows  in  him.  He  is  a  prince,  and  that  is  the  end  of  it ; 
the  hetman  himself  will  provide  naturalization  for  him. 
How  should  I  thrust  my  nose  above  him,  when  I  am  in 
brotherhood  with  Kulak  Murza,  with  Bakchy  Aga  and 
Sukyman  ?  None  of  these  would  be  ashamed  to  herd  sheep 
for  Tugai  Bey." 

Eva  felt  a  sudden  wish  to  kiss  her  brother  again ;  then 
she  sat  so 'near  him  that  she  began  to  stroke  his  bushy 
forelock  with  her  shapely  hand. 

The  entrance  of  Pan  Michael  interrupted  this  tenderness. 


282  PAN  MICHAEL. 

Pan  Adam  sprang  up  to  greet  the  commanding  officer, 
and  began  at  once  to  explain  that  he  had  not  paid  his 
respects  first  of  all  to  the  commandant,  because  he  had 
not  come  on  service,  but  as  a  private  person.  Pan  Michael 
embraced  him  cordially  and  said,  — 

"And  who  would  blame  you,  dear  comrade,  if  after. so 
many  years  of  absence  you  fell  at  your  father's  knees 
first  of  all  ?  It  would  be  something  different  were  it  a 
question  of  service;  but  have  you  no  commission  from 
Pan  Eushchyts  ?  " 

"  Only  obeisances.  Pan  Rushchyts  went  down  to  Yagor- 
lik.  for  they  informed  him  that  there  were  multitudes  of 
horse-tracks  on  the  snow.  My  commandant  received  your 
letter  and  sent  it  to  the  horde  to  his  relatives  and  brothers, 
instructing  them  to  search  and  make  inquiries  there;  but 
he  will  not  write  himself.  '  My  hand  is  too  heavy,'  he  says, 
'  and  I  have  no  experience  in  that  art.' " 

"  He  does  not  like  writing,  I  know,"  said  Pan  Michael. 
"The  sabre  with  him  is  always  the  basis."  Here  the 
mustaches  of  the  little  knight  quivered,  and  he  added,  not 
without  a  certain  boastfulness,  "  And  still  you  were 
chasing  Azba  Bey  two  months  for  nothing." 

"  But  your  grace  gulped  him  as  a  pike  does  a  whiting," 
cried  Pan  Adam,  with  enthusiasm.  "  Well,  God  must  have 
disturbed  his  mind,  that  when  he  had  escaped  from  Pan 
Kushchyts,  he  came  under  your  hand.  He  caught  it !  " 

These  words  tickled  the  little  knight  agreeably,  and 
wishing  to  return  politeness  for  politeness,  he  turned  to 
Pan  Novoveski  and  said, — 

"  The  Lord  Jesus  has  not  given  me  a  son  so  far ;  but  if  ever 
He  does,  I  should  wish  him  to  be  like  this  cavalier." 

"  There  is  nothing  in  him  ! "  answered  the  old  noble, — 
"  nothing,  and  that  is  the  end  of  it." 

But  in  spite  of  these  words  he  began  to  puff  from 
delight. 

"  Here  is  another  great  treat  for  me ! " 

Meanwhile  the  little  knight  stroked  Eva's  face,  and 
said  to  her:  "You  see  that  I  am  no  stripling;  but  my 
Basia  is  almost  of  your  age;  therefore  I  am  thinking 
that  at  times  she  should  have  some  pleasant  amusement, 
proper  for  youthful  years.  It  is  true  that  all  here  love  her 
beyond  description,  and  you,  I  trust,  see  some  reason  for  it." 

"  Beloved  God  ! "  said  Eva,  "  there  is  not  in  the  world 
another  such  woman  !  I  have  said  that  just  now." 


PAN   MICHAEL.  283 

The  little  knight  was  rejoiced  beyond  measure,  so  that 
his  face  shone,  and  he  asked,  "  Did  you  say  that  really  ?  " 

"  As  I  live  she  did !  "  cried  father  and  son  together. 

"  Well,  then,  array  yourself  in  the  best,  for,  without 
Basia's  knowledge,  I  have  brought  an  orchestra  from 
Kamenyets.  I  ordered  the  men  to  hide  the  instruments 
in  straw,  and  I  told  her  that  they  were  Gypsies  who  had 
come  to  shoe  horses.  This  evening  I  '11  have  tremendous 
dancing.  She  loves  it,  she  loves  it,  though  she  likes  to 
play  the  dignified  matron." 

When  he  had  said  this,  Pan  Michael  began  to  rub  his 
hands,  and  was  greatly  pleased  with  himself. 


284  PAN   MICHAEL. 


CHAPTER   XXXIV. 

THE  snow  fell  so  thickly  that  it  filled  the  stanitsa  trench 
altogether,  and  settled  on  the  stockade  wall  like  a  mound. 
Outside  were  night  and  a  storm  ;  but  the  chief  room  in 
Hreptyoff  was  blazing  with  light.  There  were  two  violins, 
a  bass-viol,  a  flageolet,  a  French  horn,  and  two  bugles.  The 
fiddlers  worked  away  till  they  were  turning  in  their  seats. 
The  cheeks  of  the  flageolet  player  and  the  buglers  were 
puffed  out,  and  their  eyes  were  bloodshot.  The  oldest 
officers  sat  on  benches  at  the  wall,  one  near  another, — as  gray 
doves  sit  before  their  cotes  in  a  roof,  —  and  while  drinking 
mead  and  wine  looked  at  the  dancers. 

Basia  opened  the  ball  with  Pan  Mushalski,  who,  despite 
advanced  years,  was  as  great  a  dancer  as  a  bowman.  Basia 
wore  a  robe  of  silver  brocade  edged  with  ermine,  and 
resembled  a  newly  blown  rose  in  fresh  snow.  Young  and 
old  marvelled  at  her  beauty,  and  the  cry  "  Save,  us !  "  came 
involuntarily  from  the  breasts  of  many;  for  though  Panna 
Eva  and  Panna  Zosia  were  somewhat  younger,  and  beautiful 
beyond  common  measure,  still  Basia  surpassed  all.  In 
her  eyes  delight  and  pleasure  were  flashing.  As  she  swept 
past  the  little  knight  she  thanked  him  for  the  entertainment 
with  a  smile  ;  through  her  open  rosy  mouth  gleamed  white 
teeth,  and  she  shone  in  her  silver  robe,  glittering  like  a 
sun-ray  or  a  star,  and  enchanted  the  eye  and  the  heart  with 
the  beauty  of  a  child,  a  woman,  and  a  flower.  The  split 
sleeves  of  her  robe  fluttered  after  her  like  the  wings  of  a 
great  butterfly ;  and  when,  raising  her  skirt,  she  made  an 
obeisance  before  her  partner,  you  would  think  that  she 
was  floating  on  the  earth  like  a  vision,  or  one  of  those  sprites 
which  on  bright  nights  in  summer  skip  along  the  edges  of 
ravines. 

Outside,  the  soldiers  pressed  their  stern  mustached-faces 
against  the  lighted  window-panes,  and  flattening  their  noses 
against  the  glass  peered  into  the  room.  It  pleased  them 
greatly  that  their  adored  lady  surpassed  all  others  in 
beauty,  for  they  held  furiously  to  her  side  ;  they  did  not 
spare  jests,  therefore,  and  allusions  to  Panna  Eva,  or  Panna 


1'AN    MICHAEL.  285 

Zosia,  and  greeted  with  loud  hurrahs  every  approach  that 
Uasia  made  to  the  window. 

Pun  Michael  increased  like  bread-rising,  and  nodded  his 
head,  keeping  time  with  Basia's  movements  ;  Pan  Zagloba, 
standing  near,  held  a  tankard  in  his  hand,  tapped  with 
his  foot  and  dropped  liquor  on  the  floor;  but  at  times  he 
and  the  little  knight  turned  and  looked  at  each  other  with 
uncommon  rapture  and  puffing. 

But  Basia  glittered  and  glittered  through  the  whole 
room,  ever  more  joyous,  ever  more  charming.  Such  for  her 
was  the  Wilderness.  Now  a  battle,  now  a  hunt,  now  amuse- 
ments, dancing  and  music,  and  a  crowd  of  soldiers,  —  her 
husband  the  greatest  among  them,  and  he  loving  and 
beloved ;  Basia  felt  that  all  liked  and  admired  her,  gave  her 
homage,  —  that  the  little  knight  was  happy  through  that; 
and  she  herself  felt  as  happy  as  birds  feel  when  spring  has 
come,  and  they  rejoice  and  sing  lustily  and  joyously  in  the 
air  of  May.  The  second  couple  were  Azya  and  Eva  Kovo- 
veski,  who  wore  a  crimson  jacket.  The  young  Tartar,  com- 
pletely intoxicated  with  the  white  vision  glittering  before 
him,  spoke  not  one  word  to  Eva;  but  she,  thinking  that 
emotion  had  stopped  the  voice  in  his  breast,  tried  to  give 
him  courage  by  pressure  of  her  hand,  light  at  the  beginning, 
and  afterward  stronger.  Azya,  on  his  part,  pressed  her 
hand  so  powerfully  that  hardly  could  she  repress  a  cry  of 
pain  ;  but  he  did  this  involuntarily,  for  he  thought  only  of 
Basia,  he  saw  only  Basia,  and  in  his  soul  he  repeated  a 
terrible  vow,  that  if  he  had  to  burn  half  Russia  she 
should  be  his. 

At  times,  when  consciousness  came  to  him  somewhat,  he 
felt  a  desire  to  seize  Eva  by  the  throat,  stifle  her,  and  gloat 
over  her,  because  she  pressed  his  hand,  and  because  she 
stood  between  him  and  Basia.  At  times  he  pierced  the 
poor  girl  with  his  cruel,  falcon  glance,  and  her  heart  began 
to  beat  with  more  power  ;  she  thought  that  it  was  through 
love  that  he  looked  at  her  so  rapaciously. 

Pan  Adam  and  Zosia  formed  the  third  couple.  She 
looked  like  a  forget-me-not,  and  tripped  along  at  his  side 
with  downcast  eyes ;  he  looked  like  a  wild  horse,  and 
jumped  like  one.  From  under  his  shod  heels  splinters  were 
flying;  his  forelock  was  soaring  upward;  his  face  was 
covered  with  ruddiness;  he  opened  his  nostrils  wide  like  a 
Turkish  charger,  and  sweeping  /osia  around,  as  a  whirlwind 
does  a  lea.!',  carried  her  through  the  air.  The  soul  grew 


286  PAN   MICHAEL. 

glad  in  him  beyond  measure,  since  he  lived  on  the  edge  of 
the  Wilderness  whole  months  without  seeing  a  woman. 
Zosia  pleased  him  so  much  at  first  glance,  that  in  a  moment 
he  was  in  love  with  her  to  kill.  From  time  to  time  he 
looked  at  her  downcast  eyes,  at  her  blooming  cheeks,  and 
just  snorted  at  the  pleasant  sight;  then  all  the  more 
mightily  did  he  strike  fire  with  his  heels ;  with  greater 
strength  did  he  hold  her,  at  the  turn  of  the  dance,  to  his 
broad  breast,  and  burst  into  a  mighty  laugh  from  excess  of 
delight,  and  boiled  and  loved  with  more  power  every 
moment. 

But  Zosia  had  fear  in  her  dear  little  heart;  still,  that 
fear  was  not  disagreeable,  for  she  was  pleased  with  that 
whirlwind  of  a  man  who  bore  her  along  and  carried  her 
with  him,  —  a  real  dragon!  She  had  seen  various,  cava- 
liers in  Yavorov,  but  such  a  fiery  one  she  had  not  met  till 
that  hour ;  and  none  danced  like  him,  none  swept  her  on  so. 
In  truth,  a  real  dragon !  What  was  to  be  done  with  him, 
since  it  was  impossible  to  resist  ? 

In  the  next  couple,  Panna  Kaminski  danced  with  a  polite 
cavalier,  and  after  her  came  the  Armenians,  —  Pani 
Kyeremovich  and  Pani  Neresevich,  who,  though  wives  of 
merchants,  were  still  invited  to  the  company,  for  both  were 
persons  of  courtly  manners,  and  very  wealthy.  The  digni- 
fied Naviragh  and  the  two  Anardrats  looked  with  growing 
wonder  at  the  Polish  dances;  the  old  men  at  their  mead 
cups  made  an  increasing  noise,  like  grasshoppers  on  stubble 
land.  But  the  music  drowned  every  voice,  and  in  the 
middle  of  the  room  delight  grew  in  all  hearts. 

Meanwhile  Basia  left  her  partner,  ran  panting  to  her 
husband,  and  clasped  her  hands  before  him. 

"  Michael,"  said  she,  "  it  is  so  cold  outside  the  windows 
for  the  soldiers,  give  command  to  let  them  have  a  keg  of 
gorailka." 

He,  being  unusually  jovial,  fell  to  kissing  her  hands,  and 
cried,  — 

"  I  would  not  spare  blood  to  please  you  !  " 

Then  he  hurried  out  himself  to  tell  the  soldiers  at  whose 
instance  they  were  to  have  the  keg ;  for  he  wished  them  to 
thank  Basia,  and  love  her  the  more. 

In  answer,  they  raised  such  a  shout  that  the  snow  began 
to  fall  from  the  roof;  the  little  knight  cried  in  addition, 
"  Let  the  muskets  roar  there  as  a  vivat  to  the  Pani ! " 
Upon  his  return  to  the  room  he  found  Basia  dancing  with 


PAN   MICHAEL.  287 

Azya.  When  the  Tartar  embraced  that  sweet  figure  with 
his  arm,  when  he  felt  the  warmth  coming  from  her  and 
her  breath  on  his  face,  his  pupils  went  up  almost  into  his 
skull,  and  the  whole  world  turned  before  his  eyes  ;  in  his 
soul  he  gave  up  paradise,,  eternity,  and  for  all  the  houris  he 
wanted  only  this  one. 

Then  Basia,  when  she  noticed  in  passing  the  crimson 
jacket  of  Eva,  curious  to  know  if  Azya  had  proposed  yet, 
inquired,  — 

"Have  you  told  her?" 

"No." 

"Why?" 

"  It  is  not  time  yet,"  said  he,  with  a  strange  expression. 

"  But  are  you  greatly  in  love  ?  " 

"  To  the  death,  to  the  death  !  "  answered  the  Tartar,  with 
a  low  but  hoarse  voice,  like  the  croaking  of  a  raven. 

And  they  danced  ^on,  immediately  after  Pan  Adam,  who 
had  pushed  to  the  front.  Others  had  changed  partners,  but 
Pan  Adam  did  not  let  Zosia  go ;  only  at  times  he  seated  her 
on  a  bench  to  rest  and  recover  breath,  then  he  revelled 
again.  At  last  he  stopped  before  the  orchestra,  and  hold- 
ing Zosia  with  one  arm,  cried  to  the  musicians,  — 

"  Play  the  krakoviak !  on  with  it ! "        * 

Obedient  to  command,  they  played  at  once.  Pan  Adam 
kept  time  with  his  foot,  and  sang  with  an  immense 
voice,  — 

"  Lost  are  crystal  torrents, 
In  the  Dniester  River; 
Lost  in  thee,  my  heart  is, 
Lost  in  thee,  O  maiden  ! 
U-ha !  " 

And  that  "  U-ha" "  he  roared  out  in  such  Cossack  fashion 
that  Zosia  was  drooping  from  fear.  The  dignified  Naviragh, 
standing  near,  was  frightened,  the  two  learned  Anardrats 
were  frightened ;  but  Pan  Adam  led  the  dance  farther. 
Twice  he  made  the  circle  of  the  room,  and  stopping  before 
the  musicians,  sang  of  his  heart  again,  — 

"  Lost,  hut  not  to  perish, 
Though  the  current  snatch  it; 
In  the  depth  't  will  seek  out 
And  bear  back  a  gold  ring. 
U-ha!" 


288  PAN  MICHAEL. 

"  Very  pretty  rhymes,"  cried  Zagloba ;  "  I  am  skilled  in 
the  matter,  for  I  have  made  many  such.  Bark  away,  cava- 
lier, bark  away  ;  and  when  you  find  the  ring  I  will  continue 
in  this  sense,  — 

"  Flint  are  all  the  maidens, 
Steel  are  all  the  young  men ; 
You'll  have  sparks  in  plenty 
If  you  strike  with  will. 

U-ha!" 

"  Vivat !  vivat  Pan  Zagloba ! "  cried  the  officers,  with  a 
mighty  voice,  so  that  the  dignified  Naviragh  was  frightened, 
and  the  two  learned  Anardrats  were  frightened,  and  began 
to  look  at  one  another  with  exceeding  amazement. 

But  Pan  Adam  went  around  twice  more,  and  seated  his 
partner  at  last  on  the  bench,  panting,  and  astonished  at  the 
boldness,  of  her  cavalier.  He  was  very  agreeable  to  her,  so 
valiant  and  honest,  a  regular  conflagration  ;  but  just  because 
she  had  not  met  such  a  man  hitherto,  great  confusion  seized 
her,  —  therefore,  dropping  her  eyes  still  lower,  she  sat  in 
silence,  like  a  little  innocent. 

"  Why  are  you  silent ;  are  you  grieving  for  something  ?  " 
asked  Pan  Adann 

"  I  am ;  my  father  is  in  captivity,"  answered  Zosia,  with 
a  thin  voice. 

"  Never  mind  that,"  said  the  young  man ;  "  it  is  proper 
to  dance  !  Look  at  this  room  ;  here  are  some  tens  of  offi- 
cers, and  most  likely  no  one  of  them  will  die  his  own  death, 
but  from  arrows  of  Pagans  or  in  bonds,  —  this  one  to-day, 
that  to-morrow.  Each  man  on  these  frontiers  has  lost  some 
one,  and  we  make  merry  lest  God  might  think  that  we 
murmur  at  our  service.  That  is  it.  It  is  proper  to  dance. 
Laugh,  young  lady !  show  your  eyes,  for  I  think  that  you 
hate  me ! " 

Zosia  did  not  raise  her  eyes,  it  is  true ;  but  she  began  to 
raise  the  corners  of  her  mouth,  and  two  dimples  were  formed 
in  her  rosy  cheeks. 

"Do  you  love  me  a  little  bit  ?  "  asked  he. 

And  Zosia,  in  a  still  lower  voice,  said,  "  Yes ;  but  —  " 

When  he  heard  this,  Pan  Adam  started  up,  and  seizing 
Zosia' s  hands,  began  to  cover  them  with  kisses,  and  cry, — 

"  Lost !  No  use  in  talking ;  I  love  you  to  death !  I  don't 
want  any  one  but  you,  my  dearest  beauty !  Oh,  save  me, 
how  I  love  you  !  In  the  morning  I  '11  fall  at  your  mother's 


PAN  MICHAEL.  289 

feet.  What?  —  in.  the  morning!  I'll  fall  to-night,  so  as 
to  be  sure  that  you  are  mine ! " 

A  tremendous  roar  of  musketry  outside  the  window 
drowned  Zosia's  answer.  The  delighted  soldiers  were 
firing,  as  a  vivat  for  Basia;  the  window-panes  rattled,  the 
walls  trembled.  The  dignified  Naviragh  was  frightened 
a  third  time ;  the  two  learned  Anardrats  were  frightened ; 
but  Zagloba,  standing  near,  began  to  pacify  them. 

"  With  the  Poles,"  said  he  to  them,  "  there  is  never  re- 
joicing without  outcry  and  clamor." 

In  truth,  it  came  out  that  all  were  just  waiting  for  that 
firing  from  muskets  to  revel  in  the  highest  degree.  The 
usual  ceremony  of  nobles  began  now  to  give  way  to  the 
wildness  of  the  steppe.  Music  thundered  again ;  dances 
burst  out  anew,  like  a  storm  ;  eyes  were  flashing  and  fiery ; 
mist  rose  from  the  forelocks.  Even  the  oldest  went  into 
the  dance ;  loud  shouts  were  heard  every  moment ;  and 
they  drank  and  frolicked,  —  drank  healths  from  Basia's 
slipper;  fired  from  pistols  at  Eva's  boot-heels.  Hreptyoff 
shouted  and  roared  and  sang  till  daybreak,  so  that  the 
beasts  in  the  neighboring  wilds  hid  from  fear  in  the  deepest 
thickets. 

Since  that  was  almost  on  the  eve  of  a  terrible  war  with 
the  Turkish  power,  and  over  all  these  people  terror  and 
destruction  were  hanging,  the  dignified  Naviragh  wondered 
beyond  measure  at  those  Polish  soldiers,  and  the  two  learned 
Anardrats  wondered  no  less. 


290  PAN  MICHAEL. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

ALL  slept  late  next  morning,  except  the  soldiers  on  guard 
and  the  little  knight,  who  never  neglected  service  for  pleas- 
ure. Pan  Adam  was  on  his  feet  early  enough,  for  Panna 
Zosia  seemed  still  more  charming  to  him  after  his  rest. 
Arraying  himself  handsomely,  he  went  to  the  room  in  which 
they  had  danced  the  previous  evening  to  listen  whether 
there  was  not  some  movement  or  bustle  in  the  adjoining 
chambers  where  the  ladies  were. 

In  the  chamber  occupied  by  Pani  Boski  movement  was 
to  be  heard ;  but  the  impatient  young  man  was  so  anxious 
to  see  Zosia  that  he  seized  his  dagger  and  fell  to  picking 
out  the  moss  and  clay  between  the  logs,  so  that,  God  will- 
ing, he  might  look  through  the  chink  with  one  eye  at 
Zosia. 

Zagloba,  who  was  just  passing  with  his  beads  in  his 
hand,  found  him  at  this  work,  and  knowing  at  once  what 
the  matter  was,  came  up  on  tiptoe  and  began  to  belabor 
with  the  sandalwood  beads  the  shoulders  of  the  knight. 

Pan  Adam  slipped  aside  and  squirmed  as  if  laughing; 
but  he  was  greatly  confused,  and  the  old  man  pursued  him 
and  struck  him  continually. 

"  Oh,  such  a  Turk !  oh,  Tartar !  here  it  is  for  you ;  here 
it  is  for  you !  I  exorcise  you !  Where  are  your  morals  ? 
You  want  to  see  a  woman  ?  Here  it  is  for  you ;  here  it  is 
for  you!" 

"My  benefactor,"  cried  Pan  Adam,  "it  is  not  right  to 
make  a  whip  out  of  holy  beads.  Let  me  go,  for  I  had  no 
sinful  intention." 

"  You  say  it  is  not  right  to  strike  with  a  rosary  ?  Not 
true !  The  palm  on  Palm  Sunday  is  holy,  and  still  people 
strike  with  it.  Ha !  these  were  Pagan  beads  once  and 
belonged  to  Suban  Kazi;  but  I  took  them  from  him  at 
Zbaraj,  and  afterward  the  apostolic  nuncio  blessed  them. 
See,  they  are  genuine  sandalwood ! " 

"  If  they  are  real  sandalwood,  they  have  an  odor." 

"  Beads  have  an  odor  for  me,  and  a  girl  for  you.  I*  must 
dress  your  shoulders  well  yet,  for  there  is  nothing  to  drive 
out  the  Devil  like  a  chaplet." 


PAN   MIOHAF.L.  291 

"  I  had  no  sinful  intention  ;  upon  my  health  I  had  not ! " 

"Was  it  only  through  piety  that  you  were  opening  a 
chink  ?  " 

"Not  through  piety,  but  through  love,  which  is  so  won- 
derful that  I  'm  not  sure  that  I  shall  not  burst  from  it,  as  a 
bomb  bursts.  What  is  the  use  in  pretending,  when  it  is 
true  ?  Flies  do  not  trouble  a  horse  in  autumn  as  this  affec- 
tion troubles  ine." 

"  See  that  this  is  not  sinful  desire ;  for  when  I  came  in 
here  you  could  not  stand  still,  but  were  striking  heel  against 
heel  as  if  you  were  standing  on  a  firebrand." 

"  I  saw  nothing,  as  I  love  God  sincerely,  for  I  had  only 
just  begun  to  pick  at  the  chink." 

"  Ah,  youth  !  blood  is  not  water !  I,  too,  must  at  times 
even  yet  repress  myself,  for  in  me  there  is  a  lion  seeking 
whom  he  may  devour.  If  you  have  honorable  intentions, 
you  are  thinking  of  marriage." 

"  Thinking  of  marriage  ?  God  of  might !  of  what  should 
I  be  thinking  ?  Not  only  am  I  thinking,  but  't  is  as  if 
some  one  were  pricking  me  with  an  awl.  Is  it  not  known 
to  your  grace  that  I  made  a  proposal  to  Panna  Boski  last 
evening,  and  I  have  the  consent  of  my  father  ?  " 

"  The  boy  is  of  sulphur  and  powder !  Hangman  take 
thee !  If  that  is  the  case,  then  the  affair  is  quite  dif- 
ferent ;  but  tell  me,  how  was  it  ?  " 

"  Last  evening  Pani  Boski  went  to  her  room  to  bring  a 
handkerchief  for  Zosia,  I  after  her.  She  turns  around : 
'  Who  is  there  ? '  And  I,  with  a  rush  to  her  feet :  ( Beat 
me,  mother,  but  give  me  Zosia,  —  my  happiness,  my  love  ! ' 
But  Pani  Boski,  when  she  recovered  herself,  said :  '  All 
people  praise  you  and  think  you  a  worthy  cavalier ;  still,  I 
will  not  give  an  answer  to-day,  nor  to-morrow,  but  later; 
and  you  need  the  permission  of  your  father.'  She  went  out 
then,  thinking  that  I  was  under  the  influence  of  wine. 
In  truth,  I  had  a  little  in  my  head." 

"  That  is  nothing ;  all  had  some  in  their  heads.  Did  you 
not  see  the  pointed  caps  sidewise  on  the  heads  of  Naviragh 
and  the  Anardrats  toward  the  end  ?  " 

"I  did  not  notice  them,  for  I  was  settling  in  my  mind 
how  to  get  my  father's  consent  in  the  easiest  way." 

"Well,  did  it  come  hard?" 

"  Toward  morning  we  both  went  to  our  room ;  and  because 
it  is  well  to  hammer  iron  while  it  is  hot,  I  thought  to  my- 
self at  once  that  it  was  necessary  to  feel,  even  from  afar, 


292  PAN   MICHAEL. 

how  my  father  would  look  at  the  matter.  l  Listen,  father  : 
I  want  Zosia  terribly,  and  I  want  your  consent ;  and  if  you 
don't  give  it,  then,  as  God  lives,  I  '11  go  to  the  Venetians  to 
serve,  and  that's  all  you'll  hear  of  me.'  Then  did  not  he 
fall  on  me  with  great  rage :  '  Oh,  such  a  son ! '  said  he ; 
'you  can  do  without  permission!  _  Go  to  the  Venetians,  or 
take  the  girl,  —  only  I  tell  you  this,  that  I  will  not  give  you 
a  copper,  not  only  of  my  own,  but  of  your  mother's  money, 
for  it  is  all  mine.'  " 

Zagloba  thrust  out  his  under-lip.     "  Oh,  that  is  bad  !  " 

"  But  wait.  When  I  heard  that,  I  said :  '  But  am  I  ask- 
ing for  money,  or  do  I  need  it  ?  I  want  your  blessing, 
nothing  more  ;  for  the  property  of  Pagans  that  came  to  my 
sabre  is  enough  to  rent  a  good  estate  or  purchase  a  village. 
What  belongs  to  mother,  let  that  be  a  dower  for  Eva;  I  will 
add  one  or  two  handfuls  of  turquoise  and  some  silk  and 
brocade,  and  if  a  bad  year  comes,  I  '11  help  my  father  with 
ready  money.'  My  father  became  dreadfully  curious  then. 
'Have  you  such  wealth?'  asked  he.  'In  God's  name, 
where  did  you  get  it  ?  Was  it  from  plunder,  for  you  went 
away  as  poor  as  a  Turkish  saint  ?  ' 

"  (  Fear  God,  father,'  answered  I.  '  It  is  eleven  years 
since  I  began  to  bring  down  this  fist,  and,  as  they  say,  it  is 
not  of  the  worst,  and  shouldn't  it  collect  something?  I 
was  at  ±he  storming  of  rebel  towns  in  which  ruffiandom  and 
the  Tartars  had  piled  up  the  finest  plunder ;  I  fought 
against  murzas  and  robber  bands :  booty  came  and  came.  I 
took  only  what  was  recognized  as  mine  without  injustice  to 
any  ;  but  it  increased,  and  if  a  man  did  n't  frolic,  I  should 
have  had  twice  as  much  property  as  you  got  from  your 
father.' * 

"  What  did  the  old  man  say  to  that  ?  "  asked  Zagloba, 
rejoicing. 

"  My  father  was  amazed,  for  he  had  not  expected  this, 
and  began  straightway  to  complain  of  my  wastefulness. 
'  There  would  be,'  said  he,  '  an  increase,  but  that  this 
scatterer,  this  haughty  fellow  who  loves  only  to  plume 
•himself  and  puts  on  the  magnate,  squanders  all,  saves 
nothing.'  Then  curiosity  conquered  him,  and  he  began  to 
ask  particularly  what  I  have ;  and  seeing  that  I  could  travel 
quickly  by  smearing  with  that  tar,  I  not  only  concealed 
nothing,  but  lied  a  little,  though  usually  I  will  not  over- 
color,  for  I  think  thus  to  myself :  '  Truth  is  oats,  and  lying 
chopped  straw.'  My  father  bethought  himself,  and  now  for 


PAN   MICHAEL.  293 

plans  :  'This  or  that  [land]  might  have  been  bought,'  said 
lie  ;  '  this  or  that  lawsuit  might  havo  been  kept  up,'  said  he; 
4  we  might  have  lived  at  each  side  of  the  same  boundary,  and 
when  you  wore  away  I  could  have  looked  after  everything.' 
And  my  worthy  father  began  to  cry.  'Adam,'  said  he, 
'  that  girl  has  pleased  me  terribly ;  she  is  under  the  protec- 
tion of  the  hetman, — there  may  be  some  profit  out  of  that, 
too ;  but  do  you  respect  this  my  second  daughter,  and  do  not 
squander  what  she  has,  for  I  should  not  forgive  you  at  my 
death-hour.'  And  I,  iny  gracious  benefactor,  just  roared  at 
the  very  suspicion  of  injustice  to  Zosia.  My  father  and  I 
fell  into  each  other's  embraces,  and  wept  till  the  first  cock- 
crow, precisely." 

"  The  old  rogue ! "  muttered  Zagloba,  then  he.  added 
aloud  :  "  Ah,  there  may  be  a  wedding  soon,  and  new  amuse- 
ments in  Hreptyoff,  especially  since  it  is  carnival  time." 

"  There  would  be  one  to-morrow  if  it  depended  on  me," 
cried  Pan  Adam,  abruptly ;  "  but  this  is  what :  My  leave  will 
end  soon,  and  service  is  service,  so  I  must  return  to  Rash- 
koff.  Well,  Pan  Rushchyts  will  give  me  another  leave,  I 
know.  But  I  am  not  certain 'that  there  will  not  be  delays 
on  the  part  of  the  ladies.  For  when  I  push  up  to  the  old 
one,  she  says,  '  My  husband  is  in  captivity.'  When  I  speak 
to  the  daughter,  she  says,  '  Papa  is  in  captivity.'  What  of 
that  ?  I  do  not  keep  that  papa  in  bonds,  do  I  ?  I  'm 
terribly  afraid  of  these  obstacles ;  if  it  were  not  for  that,  I 
would  take  Father  Kaminski  by  the  soutane  and  would  n't 
let  him  go  till  he  had  tied  Zosia  and  me.  But  when  women 
get  a  thing  into  their  heads  you  can 't  draw  it  out  with 
nippers.  I  'd  give-  my  last  copper,  I  'd  go  in  person  for 
'  papa,'  but  I  've  no  way  of  doing  it.  Besides,  no  one  knows 
where  he  is ;  maybe  he  is  dead,  and  there  is  the  work  for 
you!  If  they  ask  me  to  wait  for  him,  I  might  have  to 
wait  till  the  Day  of  Judgment  ! " 

"  Pyotrovich,  Naviragh,  and  the  Anardrats  will  take  the 
road  to-morrow;  there  will  be  tidings  soon." 

"  Jesus  save  us  !  Am  I  to  wait  for  tidings  ?  There  can 
be  nothing  before  spring;  meanwhile  I  shall  wither  away, 
as  God  is  dear  to  me !  My  benefactor,  all  have  faith  in 
your  wit  and  experience ;  knock  this  waiting  out  of  the  heads 
of  these  women.  My  benefactor,  in  the  spring  there  will 
be  war.  God  knows  what  will  happen.  Besides,  I  want 
to  marry  Zosia,  not '  papa ; '  why  must  I  sigh  to  him  ?  " 

"  Persuade  the  women  to  go  to  Rashkoff  and  settle.  There 


294  PAN  MICHAEL. 

it  will  be  easier  to  get  tidings,  and  if  Pyotrovich  finds  Boski, 
he  will  be  near  you.  I  will  do  what  I  can,  I  repeat ;  but  do 
you  ask  Pani  Basia  to  take  your  part." 

"I  will  not  neglect  that,  I  will  not  neglect,  for  devil  —  " 

With  that  the  door  squeaked,  and  Pani  Boski  entered. 
But  before  Zagloba  could  look  around,  Pan  Adam  had 
already  thundered  down  with  his  whole  length  at  her  feet, 
and  occupying  an  enormous  extent  of  the  floor  with  his 
gigantic  body,  began  to  cry :  — 

"I  have  my  father's  consent.  Give  me  Zosia,  mother! 
Give  me  Zosia,  give  me  Zosia,  mother ! " 

"  Give  Zosia,  mother,"  repeated  Zagloba,  in  a  bass  voice. 

The  uproar  drew  people  from  the  adjacent  chambers ; 
Basia  came  in,  Pan  Michael  came  from  his  office,  and 
soon  after  came  Zosia  herself.  It  did  not  become  the  girl 
to  seem  to  surmise  what  the  matter  was;  but  her  face 
grew  purple  at  once,  and  putting  one  hand  in  the  other 
quickly  she  dropped  them  before  her,  pursed  her  mouth, 
and  stood  at  the  wall  with  downcast  eyes.  Pan  Michael 
ran  for  old  Novoveski.  When  he  came  he  was  deeply 
offended  that  his  son  had  not  committed  the  function  to 
him,  and  had  not  left  the  affair  to  his  eloquence,  still  he 
upheld  the  entreaty. 

Pani  Boski,  who  lacked,  indeed,  every  near  guardianship 
in  the  world,  burst  into  tears  at  last,  and  agreed  to  Pan 
Adam's  request  to  go  to  Eashkoff  and  wait  there  for  her 
husband.  Then,  covered  with  tears,  she  turned  to  he; 
daughter. 

" Zosia,"  asked  she,  "are  the  plans  of  Pan  Adam  to  your 
heart  ?  " 

All  eyes  were  turned  to  Zosia.     She  was  standing  at  the 
wall,  her  eyes  fixed  on  the  floor   as  usual,  and   only  after 
some  silence  did  she  say,  in  a  voice  barely  audible,  — 
•      « I  will  go  to  Rashkoff." 

"  My  beauty !  "  roared  Pan  Adam,  and  springing  to  the 
maiden  he  caught  her  in  his  arms.  Then  he  cried  till 
the  walls  trembled,  "  Zosia  is  mine !  She  is  mine,  she  is 
mine ! " 


PAN  MICHAEL.  295 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

PAN  ADAM  started  for  Kashkoff  immediately  after  his 
betrothal,  to  find  and  furnish  quarters  for  Pani  and  Panna 
Boski ;  two  weeks  after  his  departure  a  whole  caravan 
of  Hreptyoff  guests  left  the  fortalice.  It  was  composed 
of  Naviragh,  the  two  Anardrats,  the  Armenian  women 
(Kyeremovich  and  Neresevich),  Seferevich,  Pani  and  Panna 
Boski,  the  two  Pyotroviches,  and  old  Pan  Novoveski,  with- 
out counting  a  number  of  Armenians  from  Kamenyets,  and 
numerous  servants,  as  well  as  armed  attendants  to  guard 
wagons,  draft  .horses,  and  pack  animals.  The  Pyotroviches 
and  the  delegation  of  the  patriarch  of  Echmiadzin  were  to 
rest  simply  at  Rashkoff,  receive  news  there  concerning  their 
journey,  and  move  on  toward  the  Crimea..  The  remainder 
of  the  company  determined  to  settle  in  Rashkoff  for  a  time, 
and  wait,  at  least  till  the  first  thaws,  for  the  return  of  the 
prisoners ;  namely,  Boski,  the  younger  Seferevich,  and  the 
two  merchants  whose  wives  were  long  waiting  in  sorrow. 

That  was  a  difficult  road,  for  it  lay  through  silent  wastes 
and  steep  ravines.  Fortunately  abundant  but  dry  snow 
formed  excellent  sleighing;  the  presence  of  commands  in 
Mohiloff,  Yampol,  and  Rashkoff  insured  safety.  Azba  Bey 
was  cut  to  pieces,  the  robbers  either  hanged  or  dispersed ; 
and  the  Tartars  in  winter,  through  lack  of  grass,  did  not  go 
out  on  the  usual  roads. 

Finally,  Pan  Adam  had  promised  to  meet  them  with  a 
few  tens  of  horses,  if  he  should  receive  permission  from 
Pan  Rushchyts.  They  went,  therefore,  briskly  and  will- 
ingly ;  Zosia  was  ready  to  go  to  the  end  of  the  world  for 
Pan  Adam.  Pani  Boski  and  the  two  Armenian  women  were 
hoping  for  the  speedy  return  of  their  husbands.  Rashkoff 
lay,  it  is  true,  in  terrible  wilds  on  the  border  of  Christendom  ; 
but  still  they  were  not  going  there  for  a  lifetime,  nor  for  a 
long  stay.  In  spring  war  would  come  ;  war  was  mentioned 
on  the  borders  everywhere.  When  their  loved  ones  were 
found,  they  must  return  with  the  first  warm  breeze  to  save 
their  heads  from  destruction. 


296  PAN   MICHAEL. 

Eva  remained  at  Hreptyoff,  detained  by  Pani  Basia, 
Pan  Novoveski  did  not  insist  greatly  on  taking  his  daugh- 
ter, especially  as  he  was  leaving  her  in  the  house  of  such 
worthy  people. 

"I  will  send  her  most  safely,  or  I  will  take  her  myself," 
said  Basia,  "  rather  I  will  take  her  myself,  for  I  should  like 
to  see  once  in  my  life  that  whole  terrible  boundary  of  which 
I  have  heard  so  much  from  childhood.  In  spring,  when  the 
roads  will  be  black  from  chambuls,  my  husband  would  not 
let  me  go ;  but  now,  if  Eva  stays  here,  I  shall  have  a  fair 
pretext.  In  a  couple  of  weeks  I  shall  begin  to  insist,  and  in 
three  I  shall  have  permission  surely." 

''Your  husband,  I  hope,  will  not  let  you  go  in  winter 
unless  with  a  good  escort." 

"  If  he  can  go,  he  will  go  with  me  ;  if  not,  Azya  will  escort 
us  with  a  couple  of  hundred  or  more  horses,  for  I  hear  that 
he  is  to  be  sent  to  Rashkoff  in  every  case." 

The  conversation  ended  with  this,  and  Eva  remained  in 
Hreptyoff.  Basia,  however,  had  other  calculations  besides 
the  reasons  given  to  Pan  Novoveski.  She  wished  to  lighten 
for  Azya  an  approach  to  Eva,  for  the  young  Tartar  was 
beginning  to  disquiet  her.  As  often  as  he  met  Basia  lie 
answered  her  queries,  it  is  true,  by  saying  that  he  loved 
Eva,  that  his  former  feeling  had  not  died ;  but  when  he  was 
with  Eva  he  was  silent.  Meanwhile  the  girl  had  fallen  in 
love  with  him  to  desperation  in  that  Hreptyoff  desert.  His 
wild  but  splendid  beauty,  his  childhood  passed  under  the 
strong  hand  of  Novoveski,  his  princely  descent,  and  that 
prolonged  mystery  which  had  weighed  upon  him,  finally  his 
military  fame,  had  enchanted  her  thoroughly.  She  was 
waiting  merely  for  the  moment  to  open  to  him  her  heart, 
burning  as  a  flame,  and  to  say  to  him,  "  Azya,  I  have  loved 
thee  from  childhood,"  to  fall  into  his  arms  and  vow  love  to 
him  till  death.  Meanwhile  he  closed  his  teeth  and  was 
silent. 

Eva  herself  thought  at  first  that  the  presence  of  her  father 
and  brother  restrained  Azya  from  a  confession.  Later,  dis- 
quiet seized  her  too,  for  if  obstacles  arose  unavoidably  on 
the  part  of  her  father  and  brother,  especially  before  Azya 
had  received  naturalization,  still  he  might  open  his  heart  to 
her,  and  he  was  bound  to  do  so  the  more  speedily  and  sin 
cerely  the  more  obstacles  were  rising  on  their  road. 

But  he  was  silent. 

Doubt  crept  at  last  into  the  maiden's  heart,  and  she  begaii 


PAN  MICHAEL.  21)7 

to  complain  of  her  misfortune  to  Basia,  who  pacified  her, 
saying  :  — 

"  I  do  not  deny  that  he  is  a  strange  man,  and  wonderfully 
secretive  ;  but  I  am  certain  that  he  loves  you,  for  he  has  told 
me  so  frequently,  and  besides  he  looks  on  you  not  as  on 
others." 

To  this  Eva,  shaking  her  head,  answered  gloomily : 
"  Differently,  that  is  certain ;  but  I  know  not  whether 
there  is  love  or  hatred  in  that  gaze." 

"  Dear  Eva,  do  not  talk  folly ;  why  should  he  hate  you  ?  " 

"  But  why  should  he  love  me  ?  " 

Here  Basia  began  to  pass  her  small  hands  over  the 
maiden's  face.  "  But  why  does  Michael  love  me  ?  And 
why  did  your  brother,  when  he  had  barely  seen  Zosia,  fall 
in  love  with  her  ?  " 

"Adam  has  always  been  hasty." 

"Azya  is  haughty,  and  dreads  refusal,  especially  from 
your  father ;  your  brother,  having  been  in  love  himself, 
would  understand  more  quickly  the  torture  of  that  feeling. 
This  is  how  it  is.  Be  not  foolish,  Eva;  have  no  fear.  I  will 
stir  up-  Azya  well,  and  you  '11  see  how  courageous  he  '11  be." 

In  fact,  Basia  had  an  interview  with  Azya  that  very  day, 
after  which  she  rushed  in  great  haste  to  Eva. 

"  It  is  all  over  !  "  cried  she  on  the  threshold. 

"  What  ?  "  asked  Eva,  flushing. 

"  Said  I  to  him,  '  What*  are  you  thinking  of,  to  feed  me 
with  ingratitude  ?  I  have  detained  Eva  purposely  that  you 
might  take  advantage  of  the  occasion ;  but  if  you  do  not, 
know  that  in  two,  or  at  furthest  three  weeks,  I  will  send 
her  to  Rashkoff.  I  may  go  myself  witli  her.  and  you  '11  be 
left  in  the  lurch.'  His  face  changed  when  he  heard  of  the 
journey  to  Rashkoff,  and  he  began  to  beat  with  his  forehead 
to  my  feet.  I  asked  him  then  what  he  had  on  his  mind,  am! 
he  answered :  '  On  the  road  I  will  confess  what  I  have  in  my 
breast.  On  the  road,'  said  he,  '  will  be  the  best  occasion  ; 
on  the  road  will  happen  what  is  to  happen,  what  is  pre- 
destined. I  will  confess  all,  I  will  disclose  all,  for  I  cannot 
live  longer  in  this  torment.'  His  lips  began  to  quiver,  so 
anxious  was  he  before,  for  he  has  received  some  unfavor- 
able letters  from  Kamenyets.  He  told  me  that  he  must  go 
to  Rashkoff  in  every  event,  that  there  is  an  old  command  of 
the  hetman  to  my  husband  touching  that  matter;  but  the 
period  is  not  mentioned  in  the  command,  for  it  depends  on 
negotiations  which  he  is  carrying  on  there  with  the  captains 


298  PAN  MICHAEL. 

'  But  now,'  said  he,  '  the  time  is  approaching,  and  I  must  go 
to  them  beyond  Rashkoff,  so  that  at  the  same  time  I  can 
conduct  your  grace  and  Panna  Eva.'  I  told  him  in  answer 
that  it  was  unknown  whether  I  should  go  or  not,  for  it  would 
depend  on  Michael's  permission.  When  he  heard  this  he  was 
frightened  greatly.  Ai,  you  are  a  fool,  Eva !  You  say  that 
he  does  n't  love  you,  but  he  fell  at  my  feet ;  and  when  he  im- 
plored me  to  go,  I  tell  you  he  just  whined,  so  that  I  had  a 
mind  to  shed  tears  over  him.  Do  you  know  why  he  did 
that  ?  He  told  me  at  once.  '  I,'  said  he,  '  will  confess  what 
I  have  in  iny  heart ;  but  without  the  prayers  of  your  grace  I 
shall  do  nothing  with  the  Novoveskis,  I  shall  only  rouse 
anger  and  hatred  in  them  against  myself.  My  fate  is  in  the 
hands  of  your  grace,  my  suffering,  my  salvation ;  for  if  your 
grace  will  not  go,  then  better  that  the  earth -swallowed  me, 
or  that  living  fire  burned  me.'  '  That  is  how  he  loves 
you.  Simply  terrible  to  think  of !  And  if  you  had  seen 
how  he  looked  at  that  moment  you  would  have  been 
frightened." 

"No,  I  am  not  afraid  of  him,"  answered  Eva,  and  she 
began  to  kiss  Basia's  hands.  "  Go  with  us ;  go  with  us  !  " 
repeated  she,  with  emotion ;  "  go  with  us !  You  alone  can 
save  us ;  you  alone  will  not  fear  to  tell  my  father ;  you 
alone  can  effect  something.  Go  with  us  !  I  will  fall  at  the 
feet  of  Pan  Volodyovski  to  get  leave  for  you.  Without 
you,  father  and  Azya  will  spring  at  each  other  with  knives. 
Go  with  us ;  go  with  us  ! "  And  saying  this,  she  dropped  to 
Basia's  knees  and  began  to  embrace  them  with  tears. 

"  God,  grant  that  I  go  ! "  said  Basia.  "  I  will  lay  all  before 
Michael,  and  will  not  cease  to  torment  him.  It  is  safe  now 
to  go  even  alone,  and  what  will  it  be  with  such  a  numerous 
retinue !  Maybe  Michael  himself  will  go ;  if  not,  he  has  a 
heart,  and  will  give  me  "permission.  At  first  he  will  cry 
out  against  it ;  but  just  let  me  grow  gloomy,  he  will  begin  to 
walk  around  me  at  once,  look  into  my  eyes,  and  give  way. 
I  should  prefer  to  have  him  go  too,  for  I  shall  be  terribly 
lonely  without  him ;  but  what  is  to  be  done  ?  I  will  go  any- 
how to  give  you  some  solace.  In  this  case  it  is  not  a 
question  of  my  wishes,  but  of  the  fate  of  you  and  Azya. 
Michael  loves  you  both,  —  he  will  consent." 

After  that  interview  with  Basia,  Azya  flew  to  his  own 
room,  as  full  of  delight  and  consolation  as  if  he  had  gained 
health  after  a  sore  illness.  A  while  before  wild  despair 
had  been  tearing  his  soul ;  that  very  morning  he  had 


FAN   MICHAEL.  299 

received   a  dry  and  brief  letter  from  Fan  Bogush  of  the 
following  contents :  — 

MY  BKLOVKD  AZYA, — I  have  halted  in  Kamenyets,  and  to 
Hreptyoff  I  will  not  go  this  time  ;  first,  because  fatigue  has  overcome 
me,  and  secondly,  because  I  have  no  reason  to  go.  I  have  been  in 
Yavorov.  The  hetman  not  only  refuses  to  grant  you  permission  by 
letter  to  cover  your  mad  designs  with  his  dignity,  but  he  commands 
you  sternly,  and  under  pain  of  losing  his  favor,  to  drop  them  at  once. 
I,  too,  have  decided  that  what  you  have  told  me  is  worthless.  It 
would  be  a  sin  for  a  refined,  Christian  people  to  enter  into  such 
intrigues  with  J'agans;  and  it  would  be  a  disgrace  before  the  whole 
world  to  grant  the  privileges  of  nobility  to  malefactors,  robbers, 
and  shedders  of  innocent  blood.  Moderate  yourself  in  this  matter, 
and  do  not  think  of  the  office  of  hetman,  since  it  is  not  for  you, 
though  you  are  Tugai  Bey's  son.  But  if  you  wish  to  re-establish 
promptly  the  favor  of  the  hetman,  be  content  with  your  office,  and 
hasten  especially  that  work  with  Krychinski,  Adurovich,  Tarasovski, 
and  others,  for  thus  you  will  render  best  service. 

The  hetman's  statement  of  what  you  are  to  do,  I  send  with  this 
letter,  and  an  official  command  to  Pan  Volodyovski,  that  there  be  no 
hindrance  to  you  in  going  and  coming  with  your  men.  You  '11  have 
to  go  on  a  sudden  to  meet  those  captains,  of  course ;  only  hurry,  and 
report  to  me  carefully  at  Kamenyets,  what  you  hear  on  the  other 
bank.  Commending  you  herewith  to  the  favor  of  God,  1  remain, 
with  unchanging  good  wishes, 

MARTSIN  BOGUSH  OK  ZYEMBLYTS, 

UNDER-CARVER  OF  NOVGROD. 

"When  the  young  Tartar  received  this  letter,  he  fell  into 
a  terrible  fury.  First  he  crushed  the  letter  in  his  hand  into 
bits ;  then  he  stabbed  the  table  time  after  time  with  his 
dagger ;  next  he  threatened  his  own  life  and  that  of  the 
faithful  Halim,  who  on  his  knees  begged  him  to  undertake 
nothing  till  he  had  recovered  from  rage  and  despair.  That 
letter  was  a  cruel  blow  to  him.  The  edifices  which  his 
pride  and  ambition  had  reared,  were  as  if  blown  up  with 
powder ;  his  plans  were  destroyed.  He  might  have  become 
the  third  hetman  in  the  Commonwealth,  and  held  its  fate  in 
his  hand ;  and  now  he  sees  that  he  must  remain  an  obscure 
officer,  for  whom  the  summit  of  ambition  would  be  naturali- 
zation. In  his  fiery  imagination  he  had  seen  crowds 
bowing  down  daily  before  him ;  and  now  it  will  come  to  him 
to  bow  down  before  others.  It  is  no  good  for  him  either 
that  he  is  the  son  of  Tugai  Bey,  that  the  blood  of  reigning 
warriors  flows  in  his  veins,  that  great  thoughts  are  born  in 
his  soul  —  nothing  —  all  nothing !  He  will  live  unrecog- 


300  PAN  MICHAEL. 

nized  and  die  in  some  distant  little  fortalice  forgotten. 
One  word  broke  his  wing ;  one  "  no  "  brought  it  about,  that, 
henceforward,  he  will  not  be  free  to  soar  like  an  eagle  to 
the  firmament,  but  must  crawl  like  a  worm  011  the  ground. 

But  all  this  is  nothing  yet,  in  comparison  with  the  happi 
ness  which  he  has  lost.  She  for  the  possession  of  whom 
he  would  have  given  blood  and  eternity  ;  she  for  whom  he 
was  flaming  like  fire ;  she  whom  he  loved  with  eyes,  heart, 
soul,  blood,  —  would  never  be  his.  That  letter  took  from 
him  her,  as  well  as  the  baton  of  a  hetman.  Hmelnitski 
might  carry  off  Chaplinski's  wife ;  Azya,  a  hetman,  might 
carry  off  another  man's  wife,  and  defend  himself  even 
against  the  whole  Commonwealth,  but  how  could  that  Azya 
take  her,  —  Azya,  a  lieutenant  of  Lithuanian  Tartars,  serv- 
ing under  command  of  her  husband? 

When  he  thought  of  this,  the  world  grew  black  before 
his  eyes,  —  empty,  gloomy ;  and  the  son  of  Tugai  Bey  was 
not  sure  but  he  would  better  die,  than  live  without  a  reason 
to  live,  without  happiness,  without  hope,  without  the  woman 
he  loved.  This  pressed  him  down  the  more  terribly  since 
he  had  not  looked  for  such  a  blow  ;  nay,  considering  the 
condition  of  the  Commonwealth,  he  had  become  more  con- 
vinced every  day  that  the  hetman  would  confirm  those 
plans.  Now  his  hopes  were  blown  apart  like  mist  before  a 
whirlwind.  What  remained  to  him  ?  To  renounce  glory, 
greatness,  happiness ;  but  he  was  not  the  man  to  do  that. 
At  the  first  moment  the  madness  of  anger  and  despair 
carried  him  away.  Fire  was  passing  through  his  bones  and 
burning  him  fiercely;  hence  he  howled  and  gnashed  his 
teeth,  and  thoughts  equally  fiery  and  vengeful  were  flying 
through  his  head.  He  wanted  revenge  on  the  Common- 
wealth, on  the  hetman,  on  Pan  Michael,  even  on  Basia.  He 
wanted  to  rouse  his  Tartars,  cut  down  the  garrison,  all  the 
officers,  all  Hreptyoff,  kill  Pan  Michael,  carry  off  Basia,  go 
with  her  beyond  the  Moldavian  boundary,  and  then  down  to 
the  Dobrudja,  and  farther  on,  even  to  Tsargrad  itself,  even 
to  the  deserts  of  Asia. 

But  the  faithful  Halim  watched  over  him,  and  he  him- 
self, when  he  had  recovered  from  his  first  fury  and  despair, 
recognized  all  the  impossibility  of  those  plans.  Azya  in 
this  too  resembled  Hmelnitski ;  as  in  Hmelnitski,  so  in 
him,  a  lion  and  a  serpent  dwelt  in  company.  Should  lie 
attack  Hreptyoff  with  his  faithful  Tartars,  what  would 
come  of  that  ?  Would  Pan  Michael,  who  is  as  watchful  as 


PAN  MICHAEL.  301 

a  stork,  let  himself  be  surprised ;  and  even  if  he  should, 
would  that  famous  partisan  let  himself  be  slaughtered, 
especially  as  he  had  at  hand  more  and  better  soldiers  ? 
Finally,  suppose  that  Azya  should  finish  Volodyovski,  what 
would  he  do  then  ?  If  he  moves  along  the  river  toward 
Yagorlik,  he  must  rub  out  the  commands  at  Mohiloff,  Yam- 
pol,  and  Rashkoff;  if  he  crosses  to  the  Moldavian  bank, 
the  perkulabs  are  there,  friends  of  Volodyovski,  and  Habar- 
eskul  of  Hotin  himself,  his  sworn  friend.  If  he  goes  to 
Doroshenko,  there  are  Polish  commands  atBratslav ;  and  the 
steppe,  even  in  winter,  is  full  of  scouts.  In  view  of  all 
this,  Tugai  Bey's  son  felt  his  helplessness,  and  his  malign 
soul  belched  forth  flames  first,  and  then  buried  itself  in 
deep  despair,  as  a  wounded  wild  beast  buries  itself  in  a 
dark  den  of  a  cliff,  and  remained  quiet.  And  as  uncommon 
pain  kills  itself  and  ends  in  torpidity,  so  he  became  torpid 
at  last. 

Just  then  it  was  announced  to  him  that  the  wife  of  the 
commandant  wished  to  speak  to  him. 

Halim  did  not  recognize  Azya  when  he  returned  from  that 
conversation.  Torpor  had  vanished  from  the  Tartar's  face, 
his  eyes  danced  like  those  of  a  wild-cat,  his  face  was  gleam- 
ing, and  his  white  teeth  glittered  from  under  his  mustaches ; 
in  his  wild  beauty  he  was  like  the  terrible  Tugai  Bey. 

"  My  lord,"  inquired  Halim,  "  in  what  way  has  God  com- 
forted thy  soul  ?  " 

"  Halim,"  said  Azya,  "  God  forms  bright  day  after  dark 
night,  and  commands  the  sun  to  rise  out  of  the  sea."  Here 
he  seized  the  old  Tartar  by  the  shoulders.  "  In  a  month 
she  will  be  mine  for  the  ages ! " 

And  such  a  gleam  issued  from  his  dark  face  that  he  was 
beautiful,  and  Halim  began  to  make  obeisances. 

"Oh,  son  of  Tugai  Bey,  thou  art  great,  mighty,  and  the 
malice  of  the  unbeliever  cannot  overcome  thee ! " 

"  Listen  !  "  said  Azya. 

"I  am  listening,  son  of  Tugai  Bey." 

"  I  will  go  beyond  the  blue  sea,  where  the  snows  lie  only 
on  the  mountains,  and  if  I  return  again  to  these  regions  it 
will  be  at  the  head  of  chambuls  like  the  sands  of  the  sea,  as 
innumerable  as  the  leaves  in  those  wildernesses,  and  I  will 
bring  fire  and  sword.  But  thou,  Halim,  son  of  Kurdluk, 
wilt  take  the  road  to-day,  wilt  find  Krychinski,  and  tell  him 
to  hasten  with  his  men  to  the  opposite  bank  over  against 
Rashkoff.  And  let  Adurovich,  Moravski,  Aleksandrovich, 


302  PAN  MICHAEL. 

Groholski,  Tarasovski,  with  every  man  living  of  the  Lithu- 
anian Tartars  and  Cheremis,  threaten  the  troops.  Let 
them  notify  the  chambuls  that  are  in  winter  quarters  with 
Doroshenko  to  cause  great  alarm  from  the  side  of  Uman. 
so  that  the  Polish  commands  may  go  far  into  the  steppe  from 
Mohiloff,  Yanipol,  and  Rashkoff.  Let  there  be  no  troops 
on  that  road  over  which  I  go,  so  that  when  I  leave  Rashkoff 
there  will  remain  behind  me  only  ashes  and  burned  ruins." 

"  God  aid  thee,  my  lord ! "  answered  Halim. 

And  he  began  to  make  obeisances,  and  Tugai  Bey's  son 
bent  over  him  and  repeated  a  number  of  times  yet,  — 

"  Hasten  the  messengers,  hasten  the  messengers,  for  only 
a  month's  time  is  left ! " 

He  dismissed  Halim  then,  and  remaining  alone  began  to 
pray,  for  he  had  a  breast  filled  with  happiness  and  grati- 
tude to  God. 

And  while  praying  he  looked  involuntarily  through  the 
window  at  his  men,  who  were  leading  out  their  horses  just 
then  to  water  them  at  the  wells ;  the  square  was  black 
there  was  such  a  crowd.  The  Tartars,  while  singing  their 
monotonous  songs  in  a  low  voice,  began  to  draw  the  squeak- 
ing well-sweeps  and  to  pour  water  into  the  trough.  Steam 
rose  in  two  pillars  from  the  nostrils  of  each  horse  and  con- 
cealed his  face.  All  at  once  Pan  Michael,  in  a  sheepskin 
coat  and  cowhide  boots,  came  out  of  the  main  building,  and, 
approaching  the  men,  began  to  say  something.  They  lis- 
tened to  him,  straightening  themselves  and  removing  their 
caps  in  contradiction  to  Eastern  custom.  At  sight  of  him 
Azya  ceased  praying,  and  muttered,  — 

"  You  are  a  falcon,  but  you  will  not  fly  whither  I  fly ;  you 
will  remain  in  Hreptyoff  in  grief  and  in  sorrow." 

After  Pan  Michael  had  spoken  to  the  soldiers,  he  returned 
to  the  building,  and  on  the  square  was  heard  again  the  songs 
of  Tartars,  the  snorting  of  horses,  and  the  plaintive  and 
shrill  sound  of  well-sweeps. 


PAN  MICHAEL.  303 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

THE  little  knight,  as  Basia  had  foreseen,  cried  out  against 
her  plans  at  once  when  he  learned  them,  said  he  never  would 
agree  to  them,  for  he  could  not  go  himself  and  he  would  not 
let  her  go  without  him  ;  but  on  all  sides  beg?,n  then  prayers 
and  insistence  which  were  soon  to  bend  his  decision. 

Basia  insisted  less,  indeed,  than  he  expected,  for  she 
wished  greatly  to  go  with  her  husband,  and  without  him 
the  journey  lost  a  part  of  its  charm  ;  but  Eva  knelt  before 
the  little  knight,  and  kissing  his  hands  implored  him  by  his 
love  for  Basia  to  permit  her  to  go. 

"No  other  will  dare  approach  my  father,"  said  she,  "and 
mention  such  an  affair,  —  neither  I,  nor  Azya,  nor  even  my 
brother.  Basia  alone  can  do  it,  for  he  refuses  her  nothing." 

"Basia  is  no  matchmaker,"  said  Pan  Michael,  "and, 
besides,  you  must  come  back  here ;  let  her  do  this  at  your 
return." 

"God  knows  what  will  happen  before  the  return," 
answered  Eva,  with  weeping,  —  "  it  is  certain  only  that  I 
shall  die  of  suffering ;  but  for  such  an  orphan  for  whom  no 
one  has  pity,  death  is  best  of  all." 

The  little  knight  had  a  heart  tender  beyond  measure, 
hence  he  began  to  walk  up  and  down  in  the  room.  He 
wished  above  all  not  to  part  with  his  Basia,  even  for  a  day, 
and  what  must  it  be  for  two  weeks  !  Still,  it  was  clear  that 
the  prayers  moved  him  deeply,  for  in  a  couple  of  days  after 
those  attacks  he  said  one  evening,  — 

"  If  I  could  only  go  with  you !  But  that  cannot  be,  for 
service  detains  .me." 

Basia  sprang  to  him,  and  putting  her  rosy  mouth  to  his 
cheek  began  to  cry,  — 

"  Go,  Michael,  go,  go ! " 

"  It  is  not  possible  by  any  means,"  answered  Pan  Michael, 
with  decision. 

And  again  two  days  passed.  During  this  time  the  little 
knight  asked  advice  of  Zagloba  as  to  what  he  ought  to  do; 
but  Zagloba  refused  to  give  advice. 


304  PAN  MICHAEL. 

"If  there  are  no  other  obstacles  but  your  feelings,"  said 
he,  "what  have  I  to  say?  Decide  yourself.  The  house 
will  be  empty  here  without  the  haiduk.  Were  it  not  for 
my  age  and  the  hard  road,  I  would  go  myself,  for  there  is 
no  life  without  her." 

"  But  you  see  there  is  really  no  hindrance  :  the  weather  is 
a  little  frosty,  that  is  all ;  for  the  rest,  it  is  quiet,  there  are 
commands  along  the  road  everywhere." 

"  In  that  case  decide  for  yourself." 

After  that  conversation  Pan  Michael  began  to  hesitate 
again,  and  to  weigh  two  things.  He  was  sorry  for  Eva.  He 
paused  also  over  this,  —  is  it  proper  to  send  the  girl  alone 
with  Azya  on  such  a  long  road  ?  and  still  more  over  another 
point,  —  is  it  proper  to  withhold  help  from  devoted  people 
when  the  opportunity  to  give  it  is  so  easy?  For  what 
was  the  real  difficulty  ?  Basia's  absence  for  two  or  three 
weeks.  Even  if  it  were  only  a  question  of  pleasing  Basia, 
by  letting  her  see  Mohiloff,  Yampol,  and  Rashkoff,  why 
not  please  her  ?  Azya,  in  one  event  or  another,  must  go 
with  his  squadron  to  Rashkoff;  hence  there  would  be  a 
strong  and  even  a  superfluous  guard  in  view  of  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  robbers,  and  the  quiet  during  winter  from  the 
horde. 

The  little  knight  yielded  more  and  more,  seeing  which 
the  ladies  renewed  their  insistence,  —  one  representing  the 
affair  as  a  good  deed  and  a  duty,  the  other  weeping  and 
lamenting.  Finally  Azya  bowed  down  before  the  comman- 
dant. He  knew,  he  said,  that  he  was  unworthy  of  such  a 
favor,  but  still  he  had  shown  so  much  devotion  and  attach- 
ment to  the  Volodyovskis  that  he  made  bold  to  beg  for  it. 
He  owedmuch  gratitude  to  both,  since  they  did  not  permitmen 
to  insult  him,  even  when  he  wa.s  not  known  as  the  son  of  Tugai 
Bey.  He  would  never  forget  that  the  wife  of  the  comman- 
dant had  dressed  his  wounds,  and  had  been  to  him  not  only 
a  gracious  lady,  but  as  it  were  a  mother.  He  had  given 
proofs  of  his  gratitude  recently  in  the  battle  with  Azba 
Bey,  and  with  God's  help  in  future  he  would  lay  down  his 
head  and  shed  the  last  drop  of  his  blood  for  the  life  of  the 
lady,  if  need  be. 

Then  he  began  to  tell  of  his  old  and  unfortunate  love  for 
Eva.  He  could  not  live  without  that  maiden ;  he  had  loved 
her  through  whole  years  of  separation,  though  without 
hope,  and  he  would  never  cease  to  love  her.  But  between 
him  and  old  Pan  Novoveski  there  was  an  ancient  hatred, 


PAN   MICHAEL.  305 

and  the  previous  relation  of  servant  and  master  separated 
them,  as  it  were,  by  a  broad  ravine.  The  lady  alone  could 
reconcile  them  to  each  other ;  and  if  she  could  not  do  that, 
she  could  at  least  shelter  the  dear  girl  from  her  father's 
tyranny,  from  confinement  and  the  lash. 

Pan  Michael  would  have  preferred,  perhaps,  that  Basia 
had  not  interfered  in  the  matter ;  but  as  he  himself  loved 
to  do  good  to  people,  he  did  not  wonder  at  his  wife's  heart. 
Still,  he  did  not  answer  Azya  affirmatively  yet ;  he  resisted 
even  additional  tears  from  Eva ;  but  he  locked  himself  up 
in  the  chancery  and  fell  to  thinking. 

At  last  he  came  out  to  supper  on  a  certain  evening  with 
an  agreeable  expression  of  face,  and  after  supper  he  asked 
Azya  suddenly,  "Azya,  when  is  it  time  for  you  to  go  ?  " 

"  In  a  week,  your  great  mightiness,"  answered  the  Tartar, 
unquietly.  "  Halim,  it  must  be,  will  have  concluded  nego- 
tiations with  Krychinski  by  that  time." 

"  Give  orders  to  repair  the  great  sleigh,  for  you  must 
take  two  ladies  to  Rashkotf." 

When  she  heard  this,  Basia  began  to' clap  her  hands,  and 
rushed  headlong  to  her  husband.  After  her  hurried  Eva ; 
after  Eva,  Azya  bowed  down  to  the  little  knight's  knees 
with  a  wild  outburst  of  delight,  so  that  Fan  Michael  had  to 
free  himself. 

"  Give  me  peace  ! "  said  he  ;  "  what  is  there  wonderful  ? 
When  it's  possible  to  help  people,  it  is  hard  not  to  help 
them,  unless  one  is  altogether  heartless ;  and  I  am  no  tyrant. 
But  do  you,  Basia,  return  quickly,  my  love ;  and  do  you, 
Azya,  guard  her  faithfully;  in  this  way  you  will  thank  me 
best.  Well,  well,  give  me  peace  ! " 

Here  his  mustaches  began  to  quiver,  and  then  he  said 
more  joyously,  to  give  himself  courage,  — 

"  The  worst  are  those  tears  of  women ;  when  I  see  tears 
there  is  nothing  left  of  me.  But  you,  Azya,  must  thank  not 
only  me  and  my  wife,  but  this  young  lady,  who  has  followed 
me  like  a  shadow,  exhibiting  her  sorrow  continually  before 
my  eyes.  You  must  pay  her  for  such  affection." 

"I  will  pay  her;  I  will  pay  her!"  said  Azya,  with  a 
strange  voice ;  and  seizing  Eva's  hands,  he  kissed  them  so 
violently  that  it  might  be  thought  he  wished  rather  to  bite 
them. 

"  Michael ! "  cried  Zagloba,  suddenly,  pointing  to  Basia, 
"what  shall  we  do  here  without  her?" 

"  Indeed  it  will  be  grievous,"  said  the  little  knight, 

•20 


306  PAN  MICHAEL. 

"  God  knows  it  will ! "  Then  lie  added  more  quietly :  "  But 
the  Lord  God  may  bless  my  good  action  later.  Do  you 
understand  ?  " 

Meanwhile  Basia  pushed  in  between  them  her  bright 
head  full  of  curiosity. 

"  What  are  you  saying  ?  " 

"  Nothing,"  replied  Zagloba ;  "  we  said  that  in  spring  the 
storks  would  come  surely." 

Basia  began  to  rub  her  face  to  her  husband's  like  a 
real  cat.  "  Michael  dear !  I  shall  not  stay  long,"  said  she, 
in  a  low  voice. 

After  this  conversation  new  councils  were  held  during 
several  days  touching  the  journey.  Pan  Michael  looked 
after  everything  himself,  gave  orders  to  arrange  the  sleigh 
in  his  presence,  and  line  it  with  skins  of  foxes  killed  in 
autumn.  Zagloba  brought  his  own  lap-robe,  so  that  she 
might  have  wherewith  to  cover  her  feet  on  the  road. 
Sleighs  were  to  go  with  a  bed  and  provisions ;  and  Basia's 
pony  was  to  go,  so  that  she  might  leave  her  sleigh  in 
dangerous  places;  for  Pan  Michael  had  a  particular  fear 
of  the  entrance  to  Mohiloff,  which  was  really  a  breakneck 
descent.  Though  there  was  not  the  slightest  likelihood  of 
an  attack,  the  little  knight  commanded  Azya  to  take  every 
precaution :  to  send  men  always  a'  couple  of  furlongs  in 
advance,  and  never  pass  the  night  on  the  road  but  in  places 
where  there  were  commands ;  to  start  at  daylight,  and  not 
to  loiter  on  the  way.  To  such  a  degree  did  the  little  knight 
think  of  everything,  that  with  his  own  hand  he  loaded  the 
pistols  for  the  holsters  in  Basia's  saddle. 

The  moment  of  departure  came  at  last.  It  was  still  dark 
when  two  hundred  horse  of  the  Lithuanian  Tartars  were 
standing  ready  on  the  square.  In  the  chief  room  of  the 
commandant's  house  movement  reigned  also.  In  the  chim- 
neys pitchy  sticks  were  shooting  up  bright  flames.  The 
little  knight,  Pan  Zagloba,  Pan  Mushalski,  Pan  ISTyena- 
shinyets,  Pan  Hromyka,  and  Pan  Motovidlo,  and  with  them 
officers  from  the  light  squadrons,  had  come  to  say  farewell. 
Basia  and  Eva,  warm  yet  and  ruddy  from  sleep,  were  drink- 
ing heated  wine  for  the  road.  Pan  Michael,  sitting  by  his 
wife,  had  his  arm  around  her  waist;  Zagloba  poured  out 
to  her,  repeating  at  each  addition,  "Take  more,  for  the 
weather  is  frosty."  Basia  and  Eva  were  dressed  in  male 
costume,  for  women  travelled  generally  in  that  guise  on  the 
frontiers.  Basia  had  a  sabre ;  a  wild-cat  skin  shuba  bouna 


PAN   MICHAEL.  307 

with  weasel-skin ;  an  ermine  cap  with  earlaps ;  very  wide 
trousers  looking  like  a  skirt;  and  boots  to  her  knees,  soft 
and  lined.  To  all  this  were  to  be  added  warm  cloaks  and 
shubas  with  hoods  to  cover  the  faces.  Basia's  face  was 
uncovered  yet,  and  astonished  people  as  usual  with  its 
beauty.  Some,  however,  looked  appreciatively  at  Eva,  who 
had  a  mouth  formed  as  it  were  for  kisses ;  and  others  did 
not  know  which  to  prefer,  so  charming  seemed  both  to  the 
soldiers,  who  whispered  in  one  another's  ears,  — 

"  It  is  hard  for  a  man  to  live  in  such  a  desert !  Happy 
commandant,  happy  Azy a !  Uh ! " 

The  fire  crackled  joyfully  in  the  chimneys ;  the  crowing 
of  cocks  began ;  day  approached  gradually,  rather  frosty 
and  clear ;  the  roofs  of  the  sheds  and  the  quarters  of  the 
soldiers,  covered  with  deep  snow,  took  on  a  bright  rose 
color. 

From  the  square  was  heard  the  snorting  of  horses  and 
the  squeaking  steps  of  soldiers  and  dragoons  who  had 
assembled  from  the  sheds  and  lodgings  to  take  farewell  of 
Basia  and  the  Tartars. 

"  It  is  time ! "  said  Pan  Michael  at  last. 

Hearing  this,  Basia  sprang  from  her  place  and  fell  into 
her  husband's  arms.  He  pressed  his  lips  to  hers,  then  held 
her  with  all  his  strength  to  his  breast,  kissed  her  eyes  and 
forehead,  and  again  her  mouth.  That  moment  was  long, 
for  they  loved  each  other  immensely. 

After  the  little  knight  the  turn  came  to  Zagloba;  then 
the  other  officers  approached  to  kiss  her  hand,  and  she 
repeated  with  her  childish  voice,  resonant  as  silver,  — 

"  Be  in  good  health,  gentlemen  ;  be  in  good  health  !  " 

She  and  Eva  put  on  cloaks  with  openings  instead  of 
sleeves,  and  then  shubas  with  hoods,  and  the  two  vanished 
altogether  under  these  robes.  The  broad  door  was  thrown 
open,  a  frosty  steam  rushed  in,  then  the  whole  assembly 
found  itself  on  the  square. 

Outside  everything  was  becoming  more  and  more  visible 
from  the  snow  and  daylight. 

Hoar-frost  had  settled  on  the  hair  of  the  horses  and  the 
sheepskin  coats  of  the  men ;  it  seemed  as  though  the  whole 
squadron  were  dressed  in  white,  and  were  sitting  on  white 
horses. 

Basia  and  Eva  took  their  seats  in  the  fur-lined  sleigh. 
The  dragoons  and  the  soldiers  shouted  for  a  happy  journey 
to  the  departing. 


308  PAN   MICHAEL. 

At  that  sound  a  numerous  flock  of  crows  and  ravens. 
which  a  severe  winter  had  driven  in  near  the  dwellings  of 
people,  flew  from  the  roofs,  and  with  low  croaking  began 
to  circle  in  the  rosy  air. 

The  little  knight  bent  over  the  sleigh  and  hid  his  face  in 
the  hood  covering  the  face  of  his  wife.  Long  was  that  mo- 
ment ;  at  last  he  tore  himself  away  from  Basia,  and,  making 
the  sign  of  the  cross,  exclaimed,  — 

"  In  the  name  of  God ! " 

Now  Azya  rose  in  the  stirrups. ;  his  wild  face  was  gleam- 
ing from  delight  and  the  dawn.  He  waved  his  whirlbat, 
so  that  his  burka  rose  like  the  wings  of  a  bird  of  prey,  and 
he  cried  with  a  piercing  voice :  — 

"  Move  on  ! " 

The  hoofs  squeaked  on  the  snow ;  abundant  steam  came 
from  the  nostrils  of  the  horses.  The  first  rank  moved 
slowly ;  after  that  the  second,  the  third,  and  the  fourth, 
then  the  sleigh,  then  the  ranks  of  the  whole  detachment 
began  to  move  across  the  sloping  square  to  the  gate. 

The  little  knight  blessed  them  with  the  Holy  Cross  ;  at 
last,  when  the  sleigh  had  passed  the  gate,  he  put  his  hands 
around  his  mouth,  and  called,  "  Be  well,  Basia  ! " 

But  only  the  voices  of  muskets  and  the  loud  cawing  of 
the  dark  birds  gave  him  answer. 


PAN  MICHAEL.  309 


CHAPTER   XXXVIII. 

JL  DETACHMENT  of  Cheremis,  some  twenty  in  number, 
marched  five  miles  in  advance  to  examine  the  road  and 
notify  commandants  of  Pani  Volodyovski's  journey,  so  that 
quarters  might  be  ready,  for  her  in  each  place.  After  this 
detachment  came  the  main  force  of  the  Lithuanian  Tartars, 
the  sleigh  with  Basia  and  Eva,  and  another  sleigh  with 
servant-women ;  a  small  detachment  closed  the  march. 
The  road  was  heavy  enough  because  of  snowdrifts.  Pine 
woods,  which  in  winter  do  not  lose  their  needle-like  leaves, 
permit  less  snow  to  fall  to  the  earth ;  but  that  forest 
along  the  bank  of  the  Dniester,  formed  for  the  most  part  of 
oaks  and  other  deciduous  trees,  stripped  now  of  their  nat- 
ural covering,  was  packed  halfway  to  the  lower  branches 
with  snow.  Snow  had  filled  also  the  narrowest  ravines  ;  in 
places  it  had  been  lifted  into  waves  whose  curling  summits 
seemed  as  if  ready  to  tumble  in  an  instant  and  be  lost  in 
the  general  white  expanse.  During  the  passage  of  difficult 
ravines  and  declivities  the  Tartars  held  the  sleighs  back 
with  ropes  ;  only  on  the  lofty  plains,  where  the  wind  had 
smoothed  the  snow  surface,  did  they  drive  quickly  in  the 
track  of  the  caravan,  which  with  Naviragh  and  the  two 
learned  Anardrats  had  started  earlier  from  Hreptyoff. 

Travelling  was  difficult ;  not  so  difficult,  however,  as  some- 
times in  those  wild  regions  full  of  chasms,  rivers,  streams, 
and  gullies.  The  ladies  were  rejoiced,  therefore,  that 
before  deep  night  came  they  would  be  able  to  reach  the 
precipitous  ravine  in  the  bottom  of  which  stood  Mohiloff ; 
besides,  there  was  promise  of  continued  fair  weather.  After 
a  ruddy  dawn  the  sun  rose,  and  all  at  once  the  plains,  the 
ravines,  and  the  forests  were  gleaming  in  its  rays ;  the 
branches  of  the  trees  seemed  coated  with  sparks;  sparks 
glittered  on  the  snow  till  the  eyes  ached  from  the  brightness. 
From  high  points  one  could  see  out  through  open  spaces,  as 
through  windows  in  that  wilderness,  the  gaze  reaching 
down  to  Moldavia  was  lost  on  a  horizon  white  and  blue,  but 
flooded  with  sunlight. 


310  PAN  MICHAEL. 

The  air  was  dry  and  sharp.  In  such  an  atmosphere  men 
as  well  as  beasts  feel  strength  and  health ;  in  the  ranks 
the  horses  snorted  greatly,  throwing  rolls  of  steam  from 
their  nostrils ;  and  the  Tartars,  though  the  frost  so  pinched 
their  legs  that  they  drew  them  under  their  skirts  continu- 
ally, sang  joyful  songs. 

At  last  the  .sun  rose  to  the  very  summit  of  the  pavilion  of 
the  sky,  and  warmed  the  world  somewhat.  It  was  too  hot 
for  Basia  and  Eva  under  the  fur  in  the  sleigh.  They  loos- 
ened the  covering  on  their  heads,  pushed  back  their  hoods, 
showed  their  rosy  faces  to  the  light,  and  began  to  look 
around, — Basia  on  the  country,  and  Eva  searching  for  Azya. 
He  was  not  near  the  sleigh ;  he  was  riding  in  advance  with 
that  detachment  of  Cheremis  who  were  examining  the  road, 
and  clearing  away  snow  when  necessary.  Eva  frowned  be- 
cause of  this  ;  but  Basia,  knowing  military  service  through 
and  through,  said  to  console  her :  — 

"  They  are  all  that  way ;  when  there  is  service,  it  is  ser- 
vice. My  Michael  will  not  even  look  at  me  when  military 
duty  comes ;  and  it  would  be  ill  were  it  otherwise,  for  if 
you  are  to  love  a  soldier,  let  him  be  a  good  one." 

"But  will  he  be  with  us  at  the  resting-place  ?  "  asked  Eva. 

"  See  lest  you  have  too  much  of  him.  Did  you  not  notice 
how  joyful  he  was  when  we  started?  Light  was  beaming 
from  him." 

"  I  saw  that  he  was  very  glad." 

"  But  what  will  he  be  when  he  receives  permission  from 
your  father  ?  " 

"  Oi,  what  is  in  waiting  for  me  ?  The  will  of  God  be 
done !  though  the  heart  dies  in  me  when  I  think  of  father. 
If  he  shouts,  if  he  becomes  wilful  and  refuses  permission, 
I  shall  have  a  fine  life  when  I  go  home." 

"  Do  you  know,  Eva,  what  I  think  ?  " 

"  What  is  it  ?  " 

"There  is  no  trifling  with  Azya.  Your  brother  might 
oppose  with  his  force ;  but  your  father  has  no  command.  I 
think  that  if  your  father  resists,  Azya  will  take  you  any- 
how." 

"  How  is  that  ?  " 

"Why,  carry  you  off  simply.  There  is  no  trifling  with 
him,  people  say,  —  Tugai  Bey's  blood.  You  will  be  married 
by  the  first  priest  on  the  road.  In  another  place  it  would  be 
neceseary  to  have  banns,  certificates,  license  ;  but  here  it  is 
a  wild  country,  all  things  are  a  little  in  Tartar  fashion." 


PAN  MICHAEL.  311 

Eva's  face  brightened.  "  This  is  what  I  dread.  Azya  is 
ready  for  anything  ;  this  is  what  I  dread/-'  said  she. 

But  Basia,  turning  her  head,  looked  at  her  quickly,  and 
burst  out  suddenly  with  her  resonant,  child-like  laugh. 

"You  dread  that  just  as  a  mouse  dreads  bacon.  Oh,  I 
know  you ! " 

Eva,  flushed  already  from  the  cold  air,  flushed  still  more, 
and  said  :  — 

"  I  should  fear  my  father's  curse,  and  I  know  that  Azya 
is  ready,  to  disregard  everything." 

"  Be  of  good  courage,"  answered  Basia,  "  besides  me,  you 
have  your  brother  to  help  you.  True  love  always  comes  to 
its  own.  Pan  Zagloba  told  me  that  when  Michael  was  n't 
even  dreaming  of  me." 

Conversation  once  begun,  they  vied  with  each  other  in 
talking,  —  one  about  Azya,  the  other  about  Michael.  Thus 
a  couple  of  hours  passed,  till  the  caravan  halted  for  the  first 
refreshment  at  Yaryshoff.  Of  a  hamlet,  wretched  enough 
at  all  times,  there  remained,  after  the  peasant  incursion, 
only  one  public  house,  which  was  restored  from  the  time 
that  the  frequent  passage  of  soldiers  began  to  promise  cer- 
tain profit.  Basia  and  Eva  found  in  it  a  passing  Armenian, 
merchant  of  Mohiloff  origin,  who  was  taking  morocco  to 
Kamenyets. 

Azya  wished  to  hurl  him  out  of  doors  with  the  Wal- 
lachians  and  Tartars  who  were  with  him ;  but  the  women 
permitted  him  to  remain,  only  his  guard  had  to  withdraw. 
When  the  merchant  learned  that  the  travelling  lady  was 
Pani  Volodyovski,  he  began  to  bow  down  before  her  and 
praise  her  husband  to  the  skies.  Basia  listened  to  the  man 
with  great  delight.  At  last  he  went  to  his  packs,  and  when 
he  returned  offered  her  a  package  of  special  sweetmeats 
and  a  little  box  full  of  odorous  Turkish  herbs  good  for 
various  ailments. 

"  T  bring  this  through  gratitude,"  said  he.  "  Till  now  we 
have  not  dared  to  thrust  our  heads  out  of  Mohiloff,  because 
Azba  Bey  ravaged  so  terribly,  and  so  many  robbers  infested 
on  this  side  all  the  ravines  and  on  the  Moldavian  bank  the 
meadows;  but  now  the  road  is  safe,  and  trading  secure. 
Now  we  travel  again.  May  God  increase  the  days  of  the 
commandant  of  Hreptyoff,  and  make  each  day  long  enough 
for  a  journey  from  Mohiloff  to  Kamenyets,  and  let  every 
hour  be  extended  so  as  to  seem  a  day !  Our  commandant, 
the  field  secretary,  prefers  to  sit  in  Warsaw;  but  the  com- 


312  PAN  MICHAEL. 

mandant  of  Hreptyoff  watched,  and  swept  out  the  robbers, . 
so  that  death  is  dearer  to  them  now  than  the  Dniester." 

"  Then  is  Pan  lievuski  not  in  Mohiloff  ?  "  asked  Basia. 

"  He  only  brought  the  troops ;  I  do  not  know  if  he  re- 
mained three  days.  Permit,  your  great  mightiness,  here  are 
raisins  in  this  packet,  and  at  this  edge  of  it  fruit  such  as  is 
not  found  even  in  Turkey  j  it  comes  from  distant  Asia,  and 
grows  there  on  palms.  The  secretary  is  not  in  the  town ; 
but  now  there  is  no  cavalry  at  all,  for  yesterday  they  went 
on  a  sudden  toward  Bratslav.  But  here  are  dates ;  may 
they  be  to  the  health  of  your  great  mightiness  !  Only  Pan 
Gorzenski  has  remained  with  infantry." 

"  It  is  a  wonder  to  me  that  all  the  cavalry  have  gone," 
said  Basia,  with  an  inquiring  glance  at  Azya. 

"  They  moved  so  the  horses  might  not  get  out  of  train- 
ing,"  answered  Azya,  calmly. 

"  In  the  town,  people  say  that  Doroshenko  advanced  un- 
expectedly," said  the  merchant. 

Azya  laughed.  "But  with  what  will  he  feed  his  horses, 
with  snow  ?  "  said  he  to  Basia. 

"Pan  Gorzenski  will  explain  best  to  your  great  mighti- 
ness," added  the  merchant. 

"  I  do  not  believe  that  it  is  anything,"  said  Basia,  after  a 
moment's  thought;  "for  if  it  were,  my  husband  would 
be  the  first  to  know." 

"  Without  doubt  the  news  would  be  first  in  Hreptyoff," 
said  Azya ;  "  let  your  grace  have  no  fear." 

Basia  raised  her  bright  face  to  the  Tartar,  and  her  nos- 
trils quivered. 

"  I  have  fear !  That  is  excellent ;  what  is  in  your  head  ? 
Do  you  hear,  Eva  ?  —  I  have  fear ! " 

Eva  could«not  answer;  for  being  by  nature  fond  of  dain- 
ties, and  loving  sweets  beyond  measure,  she  had  her  mouth 
full  of  dates,  which  did  not  prevent  her,  however,  from 
looking  eagerly  at  Azya ;  but  when  she  had  swallowed  the 
fruit,  she  said,  — 

"Neither  have  I  any  fear  with  such  an  officer." 

Then  she  looked  tenderly  and  significantly  into  the  eyes 
of  young  Tugai  Bey;  but  from  the  time  that  she  had  begun 
to  be  an  obstacle,  he  felt  for  her  only  secret  repulsion  and 
anger.  He  stood  motionless,  therefore,  and  said  with  down 
cast  eyes,  — 

"In  Kashkoff  it  will  be  seen  if  I  deserve  confidence." 

And  there  was  in  his  voice  something  almost  terrible ; 


PAN  MICHAEL.  313 

but  as  the  two  women  knew  so  well  that  the  young  Tartar 
was  thoroughly  different  in  word  and  deed  from  other  men, 
this  did  not  rouse  their  attention.  Besides,  Azya  insisted 
at  once  on  continuing  the  journey,  because  the  mountains 
before  Mohiloff  were  abrupt,  difficult  of  passage,  and  should 
be  crossed  during  daylight. 

They  started  without  delay,  and  advanced  very  quickly 
till  they  reached  those  mountains.  Basia  wished  then  to 
sit  on  her  horse ;  but  at  Azya's  persuasion  she  stayed  with 
Eva  in  the  sleigh,  which  was  steadied  with  lariats,  and  let 
down  from  the  height  with  the  greatest  precaution.  All  this 
time  Azya  walked  near  the  sleigh  ;  but  occupied  altogether 
with  their  safety,  and  in  general  with  the  command,  he  spoke 
scarcely  a  word  either  to  Basia  or  Eva.  The  sun  went 
down,  however,  before  they  succeeded  in  passing  the 
mountains ;  but  the  detachment  of  Cheremis,  marching  in 
advance,  made  fires  of  dry  branches.  They  went  down  then 
among  the  ruddy  fires  and  the  wild  figures  standing  near 
them.  Beyond  those  figures  were,  in  the  gloom  of  the  night 
and  in  the  half-light  of  the  flames,  the  threatening  declivi- 
ties in  uncertain,  terrible  outlines.  All  this  was  new, 
curious ;  all  had  the  appearance  of  some  kind  of  dangerous 
and  mysterious  expedition,  —  wherefore  Basia's  soul  was 
in  the  seventh  heaven,  and  her  heart  rose  in  gratitude 
to  her  husband  for  letting  her  go  on  this  journey  to  un- 
known regions,  and  to  Azya  because  he  had  beeu  able  to 
manage  the  journey  so  well.  Basia  understood  now,  for 
the  first  time,  the  meaning  of  those  military  marches  of 
which  she  had  heard  so  much  from  soldiers,  and  what  pre- 
cipitous and  winding  roads  were.  A  mad  joyousness  took 
possession  of  her.  She  would  have  mounted  her  pony 
assuredly,  were  it  not  that,  sitting  near  Eva,  she  could  talk 
with  her  and  terrify  her.  Therefore  when  moving  in  a 
narrow,  short  turn  the  detachment  in  advance  vanished 
from  the  eye  and  began  to  shout  with  wild  voices,  the 
stifled  echo  of  which  resounded  among  overhanging  cliffs, 
Basia  turned  to  Eva,  and  seizing  her  hands,  cried,  — 

"  Oh,  ho  !  robbers  from  the  meadows,  or  the  horde !  " 

But  Eva,  when  she  remembered  Azya,  the  son  of  Tugai 
Bey,  was  calm  in  a  moment. 

"  The  robbers  in  the  horde  respect  and  fear  Azya,"  an- 
swered she.  And  later,  bending  to  Basia's  ear,  she  said, 
"Even  to  Belgrod,  even  to  the  Crimea,  if  with  him  !  " 

The  moon  had  risen  high  in  heaven  when  they  were 


314  PAN  MICHAEL. 

issuing  from  the  mountains.  Then  they  beheld  far  down, 
and,  as  it  were,  at  the  bottom  of  a  precipice,  a  collection  of 
lights. 

"  Mohiloff  is  under  our  feet,"  said  a  voice  behind  Basia 
and  Eva. 

They  looked  around;  it  was  Azya  standing  behind  the 
sleigh. 

"But  does  the  town  lie  like  that  at  the  bottom  of  the 
'ravine  ?  "  asked  Basia. 

"It  does.  The  mountains  shield  it  completely  from  winter 
winds,"  answered  Azya,  pushing  his  head  between  their 
heads.  "Notice,  your  grace,  that  there  is  another  climate 
here;  it  is  warmer  and  calmer.  Spring  comes  here  ten 
days  earlier  than  on  the  other  side  of  the  mountains,  and 
the  trees  put  forth  their  leaves  sooner.  That  gray  on  the 
slopes  is  a  vineyard;  but  the  ground  is  under  snow  yet." 

Snow  was  lying  everywhere,  but  really  the  air  was  warmer 
and  calmer.  In  proportion  as  they  descended  slowly  toward 
the  valley,  lights  showed  themselves  one  after  another,  and 
increased  in  number  every  moment. 

"  A  respectable  place,  and  rather  large,"  said  Eva. 

"It  is  because  the  Tartars  did  not  burn  it  at  the  time  of 
the  peasant  incursion.  The  Cossack  troops  wintered  here, 
and  Poles  have  scarcely  ever  visited  the  place." 

"  Who  live  here  ?  " 

"  Tartars,  who  have  their  wooden  mosque ;  for  in  the 
Commonwealth  every  man  is  free  to  profess  his  own  faith. 
Wallachians  live  here,  also  Armenians  and  Greeks." 

"I  have  seen  Greeks  once  in  Kamenyets,"  said  Basia; 
"for  though  they  live  far  away,  they  go  everywhere  for 
commerce." 

"This  town  is  composed  differently  from  all  others," 
said  Azya ;  "  many  people  of  various  nations  come  here  to 
trade.  That  settlement  which  we  see  at  a  distance  on  one 
side  is  called  Serby." 

"  We  are  entering  already,"  said  Basia. 

They  were,  in  fact,  entering.  A  strange  odor  of  skins 
and  acid  met  their  nostrils  at  once.  That  was  the  odor  of 
morocco,  at  the  manufacture  of  which  all  the  inhabitants  of 
Mohiloff  worked  somewhat,  but  especially  the  Armenians. 
As  Azya  had  said,  the  place  was  different  altogether  from 
others.  The  houses  were  built  in  Asiatic  fashion;  they 
had  windows  covered  with  thick  wooden  lattice ;  in  many 
houses  there  were  no  windows  on  the  street,  and  only  in 


PAN  MICHAEL.  315 

the  yards  was  seen  the  glitter  of  fires.  The  streets  were 
not  paved,  though  there  was  no  lack  of  stone  in  the  neigh- 
borhood. Here  and  there  were  buildings  of  strange  form 
with  latticed,  transparent  walls ;  those  were  drying-houses, 
in  which  fresh  grapes  were  turned  into  raisins.  The  odor 
of  morocco  filled  the  whole  place. 

Pan  Gorzenski,  who  commanded  the  infantry,  had  been 
informed  by  the  Cheremis  of  the  arrival  of  the  wife  of  the 
commandant  of  Hreptyoff,  and  rode  out  on  horseback  to 
meet  her.  He  was  not  young,  and  he  stuttered;  he  lisped 
also,  for  his  face  had  been  pierced  by  a  bullet  from  a  long- 
barrelled  janissary  gun ;  therefore  when  he  began  to  speak 
(stuttering  every  moment)  of  the  star  "  which  had  risen  in 
the  heavens  of  Mohiloff,"  Basia  came  near  bursting  into 
laughter.  But  he  received  her  in  the  most  hospitable 
manner  known  to  him.  In  the  "  fortalice  "  a  supper  was 
waiting  for  her,  and  a  supremely  comfortable  bed  on  fresh 
and  clean  down,  which  he  had  taken  by  a  forced  loan  from 
the  wealthiest  Armenians.  Pan  Gorzenski  stuttered,  it  is 
true,  but  during  the  evening  he  related  at  the  supper 
things  so  curious  that  it  was  worth  while  to  listen. 

According  to  him  a  certain  disquieting  breeze  had  begun 
to  blow  suddenly  and  unexpectedly  from  the  steppes.  Re- 
ports came  that  a  strong  chambul  of  the  Crimean  horde, 
stationed  with  Doroshenko,  had  moved  all  at  once  toward 
Haysyn  and  the  country  above  that  point ;  with  the  cham- 
buls  went  some  thousands  of  Cossacks.  Besides,  a  number 
of  other  alarming  reports  had  come  from  indefinite  places. 
Pan  Gorzenski  did  not  attach  great  faith  to  these  rumors, 
however.  "For  it  is  winter,"  said  he;  "and  since  the  Lord 
God  has  created  this  earthly  circle  the  Tartars  move  only 
in  spring ;  then  they  form  no  camp,  carry  no  baggage,  take 
no  food  for  their  horses  in  any  place.  We  all  know  that 
war  with  the  Turkish  power  is  held  in  the  leash  by  frost 
alone,  and  that  we  shall  have  guests  at  the  first  grass ;  but 
that  there  is  anything  at  present  I  shall  never  believe." 

Basia  waited  patiently  and  long  till  Pan  Gorzenski  should 
finish.  He  stuttered,  meanwhile,  and  moved  his  lips  con- 
timially,  as  if  eating. 

"What  do  you  think  yourself  of  the  movement  of  the 
horde  toward  Haysyn  ?  "  asked  she  at  last. 

"  I  think  that  their  horses  have  pawed  out  all  the  grass 
from  under  the  snow,  and  that  they  wish  to  make  a  camp 
in  another  place.  Besides,  it  may  be  that  the  horde,  living 


316  PAN  MICHAEL. 

near  Doroshenko's  men,  are  quarrelling  with  them ;  it  has 
always  been  so.  Though  they  are  allies  and  are  fighting 
together,  only  let  encampments  stand  side  by  side,  and 
they  fall  to  quarrelling  at  once  in  the  pastures  and  at  the 
bazaars." 

"  That  is  the  case  surely,"  said  Azya. 

"And  there  is  another  point,"  continued  Pan  Gorzenski; 
"the  reports  did  not  come  directly  through  partisans,  but 
peasants  brought  them ;  the  Tartars  here  began  to  talk 
without  evident  reason.  Three  days  ago  Pan  Yakubovich 
brought  in  from  the  steppes  the  first  informants  who 
confirmed  the  reports,  and  all  the  cavalry  marched  out 
immediately." 

"  Then  you  are  here  with  infantry  only  ? "  inquired 
Azya. 

"  God  pity  us  !  —  forty  men  !  There  is  hardly  any  one 
to  guard  the  fortalice;  and  if  the  Tartars  living  here  in 
Mohiloff  were  to  rise,  I  know  not  how  I  could  defend 
myself." 

"  But  why  do  they  not  rise  against  you  ? "  inquired 
Basia. 

"  They  do  not,  because  they  cannot  in  any  way.  Many 
of  them  live  permanently  in  the  Commonwealth  with 
their  wives  and  children,  and  they  are  on  our  side.  As 
to  strangers,  they  are  here  for  commerce,  not  for  war ;  they 
are  good  people." 

"  I  will  leave  your  grace  fifty  horse  from  my  force,"  said 
Azya. 

"  God  reward  !  You  will  oblige  me  greatly  by  this,  for 
I  shall  have  some  one  to  send  out  to  get  intelligence.  But 
can  you  leave  them  ?  " 

"  I  can.  We  shall  have  in  Eashkoff  the  parties  of  those 
captains  who  in  their  time  went  over  to  the  Sultan,  but 
now  wish  to  resume  obedience  to  the  Commonwealth. 
Krychinski  will  bring  three  hundred  horse  certainly ;  and 
perhaps  Adurovich,  too,  will  come ;  others  will  arrive  later. 
I  am  to  take  command  over  all  by  order  of  the  hetman,  and 
before  spring  a  whole  division  will  be  assembled." 

Pan  Gorzenski  inclined  before  Azya.  He  had  known  him 
for  a  long  time,  but  had  had  small  esteem  for  him,  as  being 
a  man  of  doubtful  origin.  But  knowing  now  that  he  was 
the  son  of  Tugai  Bey,  for  an  account  of  this  had  been 
brought  by  the  recent  caravan  in  which  Naviragh  was 
travelling,  Gorzenski  honored  in  the  young  Tartar  the 


PAN   MICHAEL.  317 

blood  of  a  great  though  hostile  warrior;  he  honored  in 
him,  besides,  an  officer  to  whom  the  hetman  had  conh'ded 
such  significant  functions. 

Azya  went  out  to  give  orders,  and  calling  the  sotnik 
David,  said, — 

"David,  son  of  Skander,  thou  wilt  remain  in  Mohiloff 
with  fifty  horse.  Thou  wilt  see  with  thy  eyes  and  hear 
with  thy  ears  what  is  happening  around  thee.  If  the  Little 
Falcon  in  Hreptyoff  sends  letters  to  me,  thou  wilt  stop  his 
messenger,  take  the  letters  from  him,  and  send  them  with 
thy  own  man.  Thou  wilt  remain  here  till  I  send  an  order 
to  withdraw.  If  my  messenger  says,  'It  is  night,'  thou 
wilt  go  out  in  peace;  but  if  he  says,  'Day  is  near,'  thou 
wilt  burn  the  place,  cross  to  the  Moldavian  bank,  and  go 
whither  I  command  thee." 

"  Thou  hast  spoken,"  answered  David ;  "  I  will  see  with 
my  eyes  and  hear  with  my  ears;  I  will  stop  messengers 
from  the  Little  Falcon,  and  when  I  have  taken  letters  from 
them  I  will  send  those  letters  through  our  man  to  thee.  I 
will  remain  till  I  receive  an  order;  and  if  the  messenger 
says  to  me,  -'It  is  night,'  I  will  go  out  quietly;  if  he  says, 
'  Day  is  near,'  I  will  burn  the  place,  cross  to  the  Moldavian 
bank,  and  go  whither  the  command  directs." 

Next  morning  the  caravan,  less  by  fifty  horse,  continued 
the  journey.  Pan  Gorzenski  escorted  Basia  beyond  the 
ravine  of  Mohiloff.  There,  after  he  had  stuttered  forth  a 
farewell  oration,  he  returned  to  Mohiloff,  and  they  went  on 
toward  Yampol  very  hurriedly.  Azya  was  unusually  joy- 
ful, and  urged  his  men  to  a  degree  that  astonished  Basia. 

"  Why  are  you  in  such  haste  ?  "  inquired  she. 

"Every  man  hastens  to  happiness,"  answered  Azya,  "and 
mine  will  begin  in  Rashkoff." 

Eva,  taking  these  words  to  herself,  smiled  tenderly,  and 
collecting  courage,  answered,  "But  my  father?" 

"Pan  Novoveski  will  obstruct  me  in  nothing,"  answered 
the  Tartar,  and  gloomy  lightning  flashed  through  his  face. 

In  Yampol  they  found  almost  no  troops.  There  had  never 
been  any  infantry  there,  and  nearly  all  the  cavalry  had  gone ; 
barely  a  few  men  remained  in  the  castle,  or  rather  in  the 
ruins  of  it.  Lodgings  were  prepared,  but  Basia  slept  badly, 
for  those  rumors  had  begun  to  disturb  her.  She  pondered 
over  this  especially,  —  how  alarmed  the  little  knight  would 
be  should  it  turn  out  that  one  of  Doroshenko's  chambuls 
had  advanced  really  j  but  she  strengthened  herself  with  the 


318  PAN  MICHAEL. 

thought  that  it  might  be  untrue.  It  occurred  to  her  whether 
it  would  not  be  better  to  return,  taking  for  safety  a  part  of 
Azya's  soldiers ;  but  various  obstacles  presented  themselves. 
First,  Azya,  having  to  increase  the  garrison  at  Rashkoff, 
could  give  only  a  small  guard,  hence,  in  case  of  real 
danger,  that  guard  might  prove  insufficient ;  secondly,  two 
thirds  of  the  road  was  passed  already ;  in  Kashkoff  there 
was  an  officer  known  to  her,  and  a  strong  garrison,  which, 
increased  by  Azya's  detachment  and  by  the  companies  of 
those  captains,  might  grow  to  a  power  quite  important. 
Taking  all  this  into  consideration,  JBasia  determined  to  jour- 
ney farther. 

But  she  could  not  sleep.  For  the  first  time  during  that 
journey  alarm  seized  her,  as  if  unknown  danger  were  hang- 
ing over  her  head.  Perhaps  lodging  in  Yampol  had  its 
share  in  those  alarms,  for  that  was  a  bloody  and  a  terrible 
place ;  Basia  knew  it  from  the  narratives  of  her  husband 
and  Pan  Zagloba.  Here  had  been  stationed  in  Hmelnitski's 
time  the  main  forces  of  the  Podolian  cut-throats  under  Bur- 
lai;  hither  captives  had  been  brought  and  sold  for  the 
markets  of  the  East,  or  killed  by  a  cruel  death ;  finally,  in 
the  spring  of  1651,  during  the  time  of  a  crowded  fair,  Pan 
Stanislav  Lantskoronski,  the  voevoda  of  Bratslav,  had  burst 
in  and  made  a  dreadful  slaughter,  the  memory  of  which  was 
fresh  throughout  the  whole  borderland  of  the  Dniester. 

Hence,  there  hung  everywhere  over  the  whole  settlement 
bloody  memories ;  hence,  here  and  there  were  blackened 
ruins,  and  from  the  walls  of  the  half-destroyed  castle 
seemed  to  gaze  white  faces  of  slaughtered  Poles  and  Cos- 
sacks. Basia  was  daring,  but  she  feared  ghosts;  it  was 
said  that  in  Yampol  itself,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Shumilovka, 
and  on  the  neighboring  cataracts  of  the  Dniester,  great  wail- 
ing was  heard  at  midnight  and  groans,  and  that  the  water 
became  red  in  the  moonlight  as  if  colored  with  blood.  The 
thought  of  this  filled  Basia's  heart  with  bitter  alarm.  She 
listened,  in  spite  of  herself,  to  hear  in  the  still  night,  in  the 
sounds  of  the  cataract,  weeping  and  groans.  She  heard  only 
the  prolonged  "watch  call"  of  the  sentries.  Then  .she 
remembered  the  quiet  room  in  Hreptyoff,  her  husband,  Pan 
Zagloba,  the  friendly  faces  of  Pan  Nyenashinyets,  Mushal- 
ski,  Motovidlo,  Snitko,  and  others,  and  for  the  first  time 
she  felt  that  she  was  far  from  them,  very  far,  in  a  strange 
region ;  and  such  a  homesickness  for  Hreptyoff  seized  her 
that  she  wanted  to  weep.  It  was  near  morning  when  she 


TAN  MICHAEL.  319 

fell  asleep,  but  she  had  wonderful  dreams.  Burlai,  the 
cut-throats,  the  Tartars,  bloody  pictures  of  massacre,  passed 
through  her  sleeping  head ;  and  in  those  pictures  she  saw 
continually  the  face  of  Azya,  —  not  the  same  Azya,  however, 
but  as  it  were  a  Cossack,  or  a  wild  Tartar,  or  Tugai  Bey 
himself. 

She  rose  early,  glad  that  night  and  the  disagreeable  vis- 
ions had  ended.  She  had  determined  to  make  the  rest  of 
the  journey  011  horseback,  —  first,  to  enjoy  the  movement ; 
second,  to  give  an  opportunity  for  free  speech  to  Azya  and 
Eva,  who,  in  view  of  the  nearness  of  Rashkoff,  needed,  of 
course,  to  settle  the  way  of  declaring  everything  to  old  Pan 
Novoveski,  and  to  receive  his  consent.  Azya  held  the  stirrup 
with  his  own  hand ;  he  did  not  sit,  however,  in  the  sleigh 
with  Eva,  but  went  without  delay  to  the  head  of  the  detach- 
ment, and  remained  near  Basia. 

She  noticed  at  once  that  again  the  cavalry  were  fewer  in 
number  than  when  they  came  to  Yampol ;  she  turned  there- 
fore to  the  young  Tartar  and  said,  "  I  see  that  you  have 
left  some  men  in  Yampol  ?  " 

"  Fifty  horse,  the  same  as  in  Mohiloff,"  answered  Azya. 

"  Why  was  that  ?  " 

He  laughed  peculiarly;  his  lips  rose  as  those  of  a 
wicked  dog  do  when  he  shows  his  teeth,  and  he  answered 
only  after  a  while. 

"  I  wished  to  have  those  places  in  my  power,  and  to 
secure  the  homeward  road  for  your  grace." 

"If  the  troops  return  from  the  steppes,  there  will  be 
forces  there  then." 

"  The  troops  will  not  come  back  so  soon." 

"  Whence  do  you  know  that  ?  " 

"  They  cannot,  because  first  they  must  learn  clearly  what 
Doroshenko  is  doing ;  that  will  occupy  about  three  or  four 
weeks." 

"  If  that  is  the  case  you  did  well  to  leave  those  men." 

They  rode  a  while  in  silence.  Azya  looked  from  time  to 
time  at  the  rosy  face  of  Basia,  half  concealed  by  the  raised 
collar  of  her  mantle  and  her  cap,  and  after  every  glance  he 
closed  his  eyes,  as  if  wishing  to  fix  that  charming  picture 
more  firmly  in  his  mind. 

"You  ought  to  talk  with  Eva,"  said  Basia,  renewing  the 
conversation.  "  You  talk  altogether  too  little  with  her ;  she 
knows  not  what  to  think.  You  will  stand  before  the  face 
of  Pan  Novoveski  soon ;  alarm  even  seizes  me.  You  and 


320  PAN  MICHAEL. 

she  should  take  counsel  together,  and  settle  how  you  are  to 
begin." 

"  I  should  like  to  speak  first  with  your  grace,"  said  Azya, 
with  a  strange  voice. 

"  Then  why  not  speak  at  -once  ?  " 

"  I  ani  waiting  for  a  messenger  from  Bashkoff ;  I  thought 
to  find  him  in  Yampol.  I  expect  him  every  moment." 

"  But  what,"  said  Basia,  "  has  the  messenger  to  do  with 
our  conversation  ?  " 

"  I  think  that  he  is  coming  now,"  said  the  Tartar,  avoid- 
ing an  answer.  And  he  galloped  forward,  hut  returned 
after  a  while.  "  No ;  that  is  not  he." 

In  his  whole  posture,  in  his  speech,  in  his  look,  in  his 
voice,  there  was  something  so  excited  and  feverish  that 
unquietude  was  communicated  to  Basia;  still  the  least 
suspicion  had  not  risen  in  her  head  yet.  Azya's  unrest 
could  be  explained  perfectly  by  the  nearness  of  Rashkoff 
and  of  Eva's  terrible  father;  still,  something  oppressed 
Basia,  as  if  her  own  fate  were  in  question.  Approaching 
the  sleigh,  she  rode  near  Eva  for  a  number  of  hours,  speak- 
ing with  her  of  Rashkoff,  of  old  Pan  Novoveski,  of  Pan 
Adam,  of  Zosia  Boski,  finally  of  the  region  about  them,  which 
was  becoming  a  wilder  and  more  terrible  wilderness.  It  was, 
in  truth,  a  wilderness  immediately  beyond  Hreptyoff ;  but 
there  at  least  a  column  of  smoke  rose  from  time  to  time  on 
the  horizon,  indicating  some  habitation.  Here  there  were 
no  traces  of  man ;  and  if  Basia  had  not  known  that  she  was 
going  to  Rashkoff,  where  people  were  living,  and  a  Polish 
garrison  was  stationed,  she  might  have  thought  that  they 
were  taking  her  somewhere  into  an  unknown  desert,  into 
strange  lands  at  the  end  of  the  world. 

Looking  around  at  the  country,  she  restrained  her  horse 
involuntarily,  and  was  soon  left  in  the  rear  of  the  sleighs 
and  horsemen.  Azya  joined  her  after  a  while ;  and  since  he 
knew  the  region  well,  he  began  to  show  her  various  places, 
mentioning  their  names. 

This  did  not  last  very  long,  however,  for  the  earth  began 
to  be  smoky ;  evidently  the  winter  had  not  such  power  in 
that  southern  region  as  in  woody  Hreptyoff.  Snow  was 
lying  somewhat,  it  is  true,  in  the  valleys,  on  the  cliffs,  on 
the  edges  of  the  rocks,  and  also  on  the  hillsides  turned 
northward ;  but  in  general  the  earth  was  not  covered,  and 
looked  dark  with  groves,  or  gleamed  with  damp  withered 
grass.  From  that  grass  rose  a  light  whitish  fog,  which, 


PAN  MICHAEL.  321 

extending  near  the  earth,  formed  in  the  distance  the  coun- 
terfeit of  great  waters,  filling  the  valleys  and  spreading 
widely  over  the  plains ;  then  that  fog  rose  higher  and 
higher,  till  at  last  it  hid  the  sunshine,  and  turned  a  clear 
day  into  a  foggy  and  gloomy  one. 

"  There  will  be  rain  to-morrow,"  said  Azya. 

"  If  not  to-day.     How  far  is  it  to  Rashkoff  ?  " 

Azya  looked  at  the  nearest  place,  barely  visibly  through 
the  fog,  and  said,  — 

"  From  that  point  it  is  nearer  to  Rashkoff  than  to  Yam- 
pol."  And  he  breathed  deeply,  as  if  a  great  weight  had 
fallen  from  his  breast. 

At  that  moment  the  tramp  of  a  horse  was  heard  from  the 
direction  of  the  cavalry,  and  some  horseman  was  seen  indis- 
tinctly in  the  fog. 

"  Halim  !     I  know  him,"  cried  Azya. 

Indeed,  it  was  Halim,  who,  when  he  had  rushed  up  to 
Azya  and  Basia,  sprang  from  his  horse  and  began  to  beat 
with  his  forehead  toward  the  stirrup  of  the  young  Tartar. 

"  From  Rashkoff  ?  "  inquired  Azya. 

"  From  Rashkoff,  my  lord,"  answered  Halim. 

"  What  is  to  be  heard  there  ?  " 

The  old  man  raised  toward  Basia  his  ugly  head,  emaciated 
from  unheard-of  toils,  as  if  wishing  to  inquire  whether  he 
might  speak  in  her  presence ;  but  Tugai  Bey's  son  said  at 
once,  — 

"  Speak  boldly.     Have  the  troops  gone  out  ?  " 

"  They  have.     A  handful  remained." 

"  Who  led  them  ?  " 

"  Pan  Novoveski." 

"  Have  the  Pyotroviches  gone  to  the  Crimea  ?  " 

"Long  ago.  Only  two  women  remained,  and  old  Pan 
Novoveski  with  them." 

"  Where  is  Krychinski  ?  " 

"  On  the  other  bank  of  the  river ;  he  is  waiting." 

"  Who  is  with  him  ?  " 

"  Adurovich  with  his  company ;  both  beat  with  the 
forehead  to  thy  stirrup,  0  son  of  Tugai  Bey,  and  give 
themselves  under  thy  hand,  —  they,  and  all  those  who  have 
not  come  yet." 

"'Tis  well!"  said  Azya,  with  fire  in  his  eyes.  "Fly 
to  Krychinski  at  once,  and  give  the  command  to  occupy 
Rashkoff." 

"Thy  will,  lord." 

•21 


322  PAN  MICHAEL. 

Halim  sprang  on  his  horse  in  a  moment,  and  vanished 
like  a  phantom  in  the  fog.  A  terrible,  ominous  gleam  issued 
from  the  face  of  Azya.  The  decisive  moment  had  come,  — 
the  moment  waited  for,  the  moment  of  greatest  happiness 
for  him ;  but  his  heart  was  beating  as  if  breath  were  fail- 
ing him.  He  rode  for  a  time  in  silence  near  Basia ;  and  only 
when  he  felt  that  his  voice  would  not  deceive  him  did 
he  turn  toward  her  his  eyes,  inscrutable  but  bright,  and 
say,  - 

"  Now  I  will  speak  to  your  grace  with  sincerity." 
"  I  listen,"  said  Basia,  scanning  him  carefully,  as  if  she 
wished  to  read  his  changed  countenance. 


PAN  MICHAEL.  323 


CHAPTER   XXXIX. 

AZTA  urged  his  horse  up  so  closely  to  Basia's  pony  that 
his  stirrup  almost  touched  hers.  He  rode  forward  a  few 
steps  in  silence ;  during  this  time  he  strove  to  calm  him- 
self finally,  and  wondered  why  calmness  came  to  him  with 
such  effort,  since  he  had  Basia  in  his  hands,  and  there  was 
no  human  power  which  could  take  her  from  him.  But  he 
did  not  know  that  in  his  soul,  despite  every  probability, 
despite  every  evidence,  there  glimmered  a  certain  spark  of 
hope  that  the  woman  whom  he  desired  would  answer  with  a 
feeling  like  his  own.  If  that  hope  was  weak,  the  desire  for 
its  object  was  so  strong  that  it  shook  him  as  a  fever.  The 
woman  would  not  open  her  arms,  would  not  cast  herself 
into  his  embrace,  would  not  say  those  words  over  which  he 
had  dreamed  whole  nights  :  "  Azya,  I  am  thine ; "  she  would 
not  hang  with  her  lips  on  his  lips,  —  he  knew  this.  But 
how  would  she  receive  his  words  ?  What  would  she  say  ? 
Would  she  lose  all  feeling,  like  a  dove  in  the  claws  of  a 
bird  of  prey,  and  let  him  take  her,  just  as  the  hapless  dove 
yields  itself  to  the  hawk?  Would  she  beg  for  niercy  tear- 
fully, or  would  she  fill  that  wilderness  with  a  cry  of  terror  ? 
Would  there  be  something  more,  or  something  less,  of  all 
this  ?  Such  questions  were  storming  in  the  head  of  the 
Tartar.  But  in  every  case  the  hour  had  come  to  cast  aside 
feigning,  pretences,  and  show  her  a  truthful,  a  terrible  face. 
Here  was  his  fear,  here  his  alarm.  One  moment  more,  and 
all  would  be  accomplished. 

Finally  this  mental  alarm  became  in  the  Tartar  that 
which  alarm  becomes  most  frequently  in  a  wild  beast, — 
rage ;  and  he  began  to  rouse  himself  with  that  rage. 
"Whatever  happens,"  thought  he,  "she  is  mine,  she  is 
mine  altogether ;  she  will  be  mine  to-morrow,  and  then  will 
not  return  to  her  husband,  but  will  follow  me." 

At  this  thought  wild  delight  seized  him  by  the  hair,  and 
he  said  all  at  once  in  a  voice  which  seemed  strange  to  him- 
self, "  Your  grace  has  not  known  me  till  now." 

"  In  this  fog  your  voice  has  so  changed,"  answered  Basia, 
somewhat  alarmed,  "  that  it  seems  to  me  really  as  if  another 
were  speaking." 


324  PAN  MICHAEL. 

"In  Mohiloff  there  are  no  troops,  in  Yampol  none,  in 
Rashkoff  none.  I  alone  am  lord  here,  —  Krychinski,  Adu- 
rovich,  and  those  others  are  iny  slaves ;  for  I  am  a  prince, 
I  am  the  son  of  a  ruler.  I  am  their  vizir,  I  am  their  high- 
est nmrza ;  I  am  their  leader,  as  Tugai  Bey  was ;  I  am  their 
khan ;  I  alone  have  authority ;  all  here  is  in  niy  power." 

"  Why  do  you  say  this  to  me  ?  " 

"  Your  grace  has  not  known  me  hitherto.  Kashkoff  is  not 
far  away.  I  wished  to  become  hetman  of  the  Tartars  and 
serve  the  Commonwealth  ;  but  Sobieski  would  not  permit  it. 
I  am  not  to  be  a  Lithuanian  Tartar  any  longer ;  I  am  not  to 
serve  under  any  man's  command,  but  to  lead  great  chambuls 
myself,  against  Doroshenko,  or  the  Commonwealth,  as  your 
grace  wishes,  as  your  grace  commands." 

"  How  as  I  command  ?  Azya,  what  is  the  matter  with 
you  ?  " 

"  This,  that  here  all  are  ray  slaves,  and  I  am  yours.  What 
is  the  hetman  to  me  ?  I  care  not  whether  he  has  permitted 
or  not.  Say  a  word,  your  grace,  and  I  will  put  Akkerman 
at  your  feet;  and  the  Dobrudja,  and  those  hordes  which 
have  villages  there,  and  those  which  wander  in  the  Wil- 
derness, and  those  who  are  everywhere  in  winter  quarters 
will  be  your  slaves,  as  I  am  your  slave.  Command,  and  I 
will  not  obey  the  Khan  of  the  Crimea,  I  will  not  obey  the 
Sultan ;  I  will  make  war  on  them  with  the  sword,  and 
aid  the  Commonwealth.  I  will  form  new  hordes  in  these 
regions,  and  be  khan  over  them,  and  you  will  be  alone  over 
me  ;  to  you  alone  will  I  bow  down,  beg  for  your  favor  and 
love." 

When  he  had  said  this,  he  bent  in  the  saddle,  and,  seizing 
the  woman,  half  terrified,  and,  as  it  were,  stunned  by  his 
words,  he  continued  to  speak  in  a  hurried,  hoarse  voice  : 
"  Have  you  not  seen  that  I  love  only  you  ?  Ah,  but  I  have 
suffered  my  share  !  I  will  take  you  now  !  You  are  mine, 
and  you  will  be  mine  !  No  one  will  tear  you  from  my  hands 
in  this  place  —  you  are  mine,  mine,  mine  !  " 

"  Jesus,  Mary  !  "  cried  Basia. 

But  he  pressed  her  in  his  arms  as  if  wishing  to  smother, 
her.  Hurried  breathing  struggled  from  his  lips,  his  eyes 
grew  misty ;  at  last  he  drew  her  out  of  the  stirrups,  off  the 
saddle,  put  her  in  front  of  him,  pressed  her  breast  to  his 
own,  and  his  bluish  lips,  opening  greedily,  like  the  mouth 
of  a  fish,  began  to  seek  her  mouth. 

She  uttered  no  cry,  but  began  to  resist  with  unexpected 


PAN   MICHAEL.  325 

strength  ;  between  them  rose  a  struggle  in  which  only  the 
panting  of  their  breaths  was  to  be  heard.  His  violent  move- 
ments and  the  nearness  of  his  face  restored  her  presence  of 
mind.  An  instant  of  such  clear  vision  came  to  Basia  as  comes 
to  the  drowning  ;  she  felt  everything  at  once  with  the  great- 
est vividness.  Hence  she  felt  first  of  all  that  the  earth  was 
vanishing  from  under  her  feet,  and  a  bottomless  ravine  open- 
ing, to  which  he  was  dragging  her ;  she  saw  his  desire,  his 
treason,  her  own  dreadful  fate,  her  weakness  and  helpless- 
ness ;  she  felt  alarm,  and  a  ghastly  pain  and  sorrow,  and  at 
the  same  time  there  burst  forth  in  her  a  flame  of  immense 
indignation,  rage,  and  revenge.  Such  was  the  courage  and 
spirit  of  that  daughter  of  a  knight,  that  chosen  wife  of  the 
most  gallant  soldier  of  the  Commonwealth,  that  in  that  awful 
moment  she  thought  first  of  all,  "  I  will  have  revenge,"  then 
"  I  will  save  myself."  All  the  faculties  of  her  mind  were 
strained,  as  hair  is  straightened  with  terror  on  the  head ;  and 
that  clearness  of  vision  as  in  drowning  became  in  her  almost 
miraculous.  While  struggling  her  hands  began  to  seek  for 
weapons,  and  found  at  last  the  ivory  butt  of  an  Eastern  pis- 
tol ;  but  at  the  same  time  she  had  presence  of  mind  to  think 
of  this  also,  —  that  even  if  the  pistol  were  loaded,  even  if 
she  should  cock  it,  before  she  could  bend  her  hand,  before 
she  could  point  the  barrel  at  his  head,  he  would  seize  her 
hand  without  fail,  and  take  from  her  the  last  means  of  sal- 
vation. Hence  she  resolved  to  strike  in  another  way. 

All  this  lasted  one  twinkle  of  an  eye.  He  indeed  fore- 
saw the  attack,  and  put  out  his  hand  with  the  speed  of  a 
lightning  flash ;  but  he  did  not  succeed  in  calculating  her 
movement.  'The  hands  passed  each  other,  and  Basia,  with 
all  the  despairing  strength  of  her  young  and  vigorous  arm, 
struck  him  with  the  ivory  butt  of  the  pistol  between  the 
eyes. 

The  blow  was  so  terrible  that  Azya  was  not  able  even 
to  cry,  and  he  fell  backward,  drawing  her  after  him  in 
his  fall. 

Basia  raised  herself  in  a  moment,  and,  springing  on  her 
horse,  shot  off  like  a  whirlwind  in  the  direction  opposite  the 
Dnieper,  toward  the  broad  steppes. 

The  curtain  of  fog  closed  behind  her.  The  horse,  drop- 
ping his  ears,  rushed  on  at  random  among  the  rocks,  clefts, 
ravines,  .and  breaches.  Any  moment  he  might  run  into 
some  cleft,  any  moment  he  might  crush  himself  and  his 
rider  against  a  rocky  corner ;  but  Basia  looked  at  nothing ; 


326  PAN  MICHAEL. 

for  her  the  most  terrible  danger  was  Azya  and  the  Tartars. 
A  wonderful  thing  it  was,  that  now,  when  she  had  freed 
herself  from  the  hands  of  the  robber,  and  when  he  was 
lying  apparently  dead  among  the  rocks,  dread  mastered 
all  her  feelings.  Lying  with  her  face  to  the  mane  of  the 
horse,  shooting  on  in  the  fog,  like  a  deer  chased  by  wolves, 
she  began  to  fear  Azya  more  than  when  she  was  in  his  arms  ; 
and  she  felt  terror,  and  weakness  and  that  which  a  helpless 
child  feels,  which,  wandering  where  it  wished,  has  gone 
astray,  and  is  alone  and  deserted.  Certain  weeping  voices 
rose  in  her  heart,  and  began,  with  groaning,  with  timid- 
ity, with  complaint,  and  with  pity,  to  call  for  protection : 
"  Michael,  save  me  !  Michael,  save  me ! " 

The  horse  rushed  on  and  on  ;  led  by  a  wonderful  instinct, 
he  sprang  over'  breaches,  avoided  with  quick  movement 
prominent  cliff  corners,  until  at  last  the  stony  ground 
ceased  to  sound  under  his  feet ;  evidently  he  had  come  to 
one  of  those  open  "  meadows "  which  stretched  here  and 
there  among  the  ravines. 

Sweat  covered  the  horse,  his  nostrils  were  rattling  loudly, 
but  he  ran  and  ran. 

"  Whither  can  I  go  ?  "  thought  Basia.  And  that  moment 
she  answered  herself  :  "  To  Hreptyoff." 

But  new  alarm  pressed  her  heart  at  thought  of  that  long 
road  lying  through  terrible  wildernesses.  Quickly  too  she 
remembered  that  Azya  had  left  detachments  of  his  men  in 
Mohiloff  and  Yampol.  Doubtless  .these  were  all  in  the  con- 
spiracy ;  all  served  Azya,  and  would  seize  her  surely,  and 
take  her  to  Rashkoff ;  she  ought,  therefore,  to  ride  far  into 
the  steppe,  and  only  then  turn  northward,  thus'  avoiding  the 
settlements  on  the  Dniester. 

She  ought  to  do  this  all  the  more  for  the  reason  that  if 
men  were  sent  to  pursue  her,  beyond  doubt  they  would  go 
near  the  river  ;  and  meanwhile  it  might  be  possible  to  meet 
some  of  the  Polish  commands  in  the  wide  steppes,  on  their 
way  to  the  fortresses. 

The  speed  of  the  horse  decreased  gradually.  Basia,  be- 
ing an  experienced  rider,  understood  at  once  that  it  was 
necessary  to  give  him  time  to  recover  breath,  otherwise  he 
would  fall ;  she  felt  also  that  without  a  horse  in  those 
deserts  she  was  lost. 

She  restrained,  therefore,  his  speed,  and  went  some  time 
at  a  walk.  The  fog  was  growing  thin,  but  a  cloud  of  hot 
steam  rose  from  the  poor  beast. 


PAN  MICHAEL.  327 

Basia  began  to  pray. 

Suddenly  she  heard  the  neighing  of  a  horse  amid  the  fog 
a  few  hundred  yards  behind. 

Then  the  hair  rose  on  her  head. 

"  Mine  will  fall  dead,  but  so  will  that  one ! "  said  she, 
aloud ;  and  again  she  shot  on. 

For  some  time  her  horse  rushed  forward  with  the  speed 
of  a  dove  pursued  by  a  falcon,  and  he  ran  long,  almost 
to  the  last  of  his  strength ;  but  the  neighing  was  heard 
continually  behind  in  the  distance.  There  was  in  that 
neighing  which  came  out  of  the  fog  something  at  once  of 
immeasurable  yearning  and  threatening ;  still,  after  the 
first  alarm  had  passed,  it  came  to  Basia's  mind  that  if 
some  one  were  sitting  on  that  horse  he  would  not  neigh,  for 
the  rider,  not  wishing  to  betray  the  pursuit,  would  stop  the 
neighing. 

"  Can  it  be  that  that  is  only  Azya's  horse  following 
mine  ?  "  thought  Basia. 

For  the  sake  of  precaution  she  drew  both  pistols  out 
of  the  holsters ;  but  the  caution  was  needless.  After  a 
while  something  seemed  black  in  the  thinning  mist,  and 
Azya's  horse  ran  up  with  flowing  mane  and  distended 
nostrils.  Seeing  the  pony,  he  began  to  approach  him, 
giving  out  short  and  sudden  neighs ;  and  the  pony 
answered  immediately. 

"  Horse,  horse  ! "  cried  Basia. 

The  animal,  accustomed  to  the  human  hand,  drew  near 
and  let  itself  be  taken  by  the  bridle.  Basia  raised  her  eyes 
to  Heaven,  and  said :  — 

"  The  protection  of  God !  " 

In  fact,  the  seizure  of  Azya's  horse  was  a  ciicumstance  for 
her  in  every  way  favorable.  To  begin  with,  she  had  the 
two  beet  horses  in  the  whole  detachment ;  secondly,  she  had 
a  horse  to  change ;  and  thirdly,  the  presence  of  the  beast 
assured  her  that  pursuit  would  not  start  soon.  If  the  horse 
had  run  to  the  detachment,  the  Tartars,  disturbed  at  sight 
of  him,  would  have  turned  surely  and  at  once  to  seek  their 
leader ;  now  it  will  not  come  to  their  heads  that  anything 
could  befall  him,  and  they  will  go  back  to  look  for  Azya  only 
when  they  are  alarmed  at  his  too  prolonged  absence. 

"By  that  time  I  shall  be  far  away,"  concluded  Basia  in 
her  mind. 

Here  she  remembered  for  the  second  time  that  Azya's 
detachments  were  stationed  in  Yampol  and  Mohiloff,  "  It  is 


328  PAN   MICHAEL. 

necessary  to  go  past  through  the  broad  steppe,  and  not  ap- 
proach the  Dniester  until  in  the  neighborhood  of  Hreptyoff. 
That  terrible  man  has  disposed  his  troops  cunningly,  but 
God  will  save  me.'' 

Thus  thinking,  she  collected  her  spirits  and  prepared  to 
continue  her  journey.  At  the  pommel  of  Azya's  saddle  she 
found  a  musket,  a  horn  with  powder,  a  box  of  bullets,  a 
box  of  hemp-seed  which  the  Tartar  had  the  habit  of  chew- 
ing continually.  Basia,  shortening  the  stirrups  of  Azya's 
saddle  to  her  own  feet,  thought  to  herself  that  during  the 
whole  way  she  would  live,  like  a  bird,  on  those  seeds,  and 
she  kept  them  carefully  near  her. 

She  determined  to  avoid  people  and  farms  ;  for  in  those 
wildernesses  more  evil  than  good  was  to  be  looked  for  from 
every  man.  Fear  oppressed  her  heart  when  she  asked  her- 
self, "  How  shall  I  feed  the  horses  ?  "  They  would  dig  grass 
out  from  under  the  snow,  and  pluck  moss  from  the  crevices 
of  rocks,  but  might  they  not  die  from  bad  food  and  exces- 
sive travelling  ?  Still,  she  could  not  spare  them. 

There  was  another  fear :  Would  she  not  go  astray  in  the 
desert  ?  It  was  easy  to  avoid  that  by  travelling  along  the 
Dniester,  but  she  could  not  take  that  road.  What  would 
happen  we$e  she  to  enter  gloomy  wildernesses,  immense  and 
roadless  ?  How  would  she  know  whether  she  was  going 
northward,  or  in  some  other  direction,  if  foggy  days  were  to 
come,  days  without  sunshine,  and  nights  without  stars  ? 
The  forests  were  swarming  with  wild  beasts ;  she  cared  less 
for  that,  having  courage  in  her  brave  heart  and  having 
weapons.  Wolves,  going  in  packs,  might  be  dangerous,  it 
is  true,  but  in  general  she  feared  men  more  than  beasts,  and 
she  feared  to  go  astray  most  of  all. 

"  Ah,  God  will  show  me  the  way,  and  will  let  me  return  to 
Michael,"  said  she,  aloud.  Then  she  made  the  sign  of  the 
cross,  wiped  with  her  sleeve  her  face  free  from  the  moisture 
which  made  her  pale  cheeks  cold,  looked  with  quick  eyes 
around  the  country,  and  urged  her  horse  on  to  a  gallop. 


FAN  MICHAEL.  329 


CHAPTER   XL. 

No  one  thought  of  searching  for  Tugai  Bey's  son ;  there- 
fore he  lay  on  the  ground  until  he  recovered  consciousness. 
When  he  had  coine  to  his  senses,  he  sat  upright,  and  wish- 
ing to  know  what  was  happening  to  him,  began  to  look 
around.  But  he  saw  the  place  as  if  in  darkness ;  then  he 
discovered  that  he  was  looking  with  only  one  eye,  and 
badly  with  that  one.  The  other  was  either  knocked  out, 
or  filled  with  blood. 

Azya  raised  his  hands  to  his  face.  His  fingers  found 
icicles  of  blood  stiff  on  his  mustaches ;  his  mouth  too  was 
full  of  blood  which  was  suffocating  him  so  that  he  had  to 
cough  and  spit  it  out  a  number  of  times ;  a  terrible  pain 
pierced  his  face  at  this  spitting;  he  put  his  fingers  above 
his  mustaches,  but  snatched  them  away  with  a  groan  of 
suffering. 

Basia's  blow  had  crushed  the  upper  part  of  his  nose,  and 
injured  his  cheek-bone.  He  sat  for  a  time  without  motion  ; 
then  he  began  to  look  around  with  that  eye  in  which  some 
sight  remained,  and  seeing  a  streak  of  snow  in  a  cleft  he 
crept  up  to  it,  seized  a  handful  and  applied  it  to  his  broken 
face. 

This  brought  great  relief  straightway;  and  while  the 
melting  snow  flowed  down  in  red  streaks  over  his  mus- 
taches, he  collected  another  handful  and  applied  it  again. 
Besides,  he  began  to  eat  snow  eagerly,  and  that  also  brought 
relief  to  him.  After  a  time  the  immense  weight  which  he 
felt  on  his  head  became  so  much  lighter  that  he  called  to 
mind  all  that  had  happened.  But  at  the  first  moment  he 
felt  neither  rage,  anger,  nor  despair;  bodily  pain  had  dead- 
ened all  other  feelings,  and  left  but  one  wish,  —  the  wish  to 
save  himself  quickly. 

Azya,  when  he  had  eaten  a  number  of  handfuls  more  of 
snow,  began  to  look  for  his  horse ;  the  horse  was  not 
l^iere ;  then  he  understood  that  if  he  did  not  wish  to  wait 
till  his  men  came  to  look  for  him,  he  must  go  on  foot. 
Supporting  himself  on  the  ground  with  his  hands,  he  tried 
to  rise,  but  howled  from  pain  and  sat  down  again. 


330  FAN  MICHAEL. 

He  sat  perhaps  an  hour,  and  again  began  to  make  efforts. 
This  time  he  succeeded  in  so  far  that  he  rose,  and,  resting 
his  shoulders  against  the  cliff,  was  able  to  remain  on  his 
feet ;  but  when  he  remembered  that  he  must  leave  the  sup- 
port and  make  one  step,  then  a  second  and  a  third  in  the 
empty  expanse,  a  feeling  of  weakness  and  fear  seized  him 
so  firmly  that  he  almost  sat  down  again. 

Still  he  mastered  himself,  drew  his  sabre,  leaned  on  it, 
and  pushed  forward ;  he  succeeded.  After  some  steps  he 
felt  that  his  body  and  feet  were  strong,  that  he  had  perfect 
command  of  them,  only  his  head  was,  as  it  were,  not  his 
own,  and  like  an  enormous  weight  was  swaying  now  to  the 
right,  now  to  the  left,  now  to  the  front.  He  had  .a  feeling 
also  as  if  he  were  carrying  that  head,  shaky  and  too  heavy, 
with  extraordinary  care,  and  with  extraordinary  fear  that 
he  would  drop  it  on  the  stones  and  break  it. 

At  times,  too,  the  head  turned  him  around,  as  if  it  wished 
him  to  go  in  a  circle.  At  times  it  became  dark  in  his  one 
eye;  then  he  supported  himself  with  both  hands  on  the 
sabre.  The  dizziness  of  his  head  passed  away  gradually ; 
but  the  pain  increased  always,  and  bored,  as  it  were,  into  his 
forehead,  into  his  eyes,  into  his  whole  head,  till  whining 
was  forced  from  his  breast.  The  echoes  of  the  rocks 
repeated  his  groans,  and  he  went  forward  in  that  desert, 
bloody,  terrible,  more  like  a  vampire  than  a  man. 

It  was  growing  dark  when  he  heard  the  tramp  of  a  horse 
in  front. 

It  was  the  orderly  coming  for  commands. 

That  evening  Azya  had  strength  to  order  pursuit;  but 
immediately  after  he  lay  down  on  skins,  and  for  three  days 
could  see  no  one  except  the  Greek  barber  *  who  dressed  his 
wounds,  and  Halim,  who  assisted  the  barber.  Only  on  the 
fourth  day  did  he  regain  his  speech,  and  with  it  conscious- 
ness of  what  had  happened. 

Straightway  his  feverish  thoughts  followed  Basia.  He 
saw  her  fleeing  among  rocks  and  in  wild  places;  she 
seemed  to  him  a  bird  that  was  flying  away  forever ;  he  saw 
her  nearing  Hreptyoff,  saw  her  in  the  arms  of  her  husband, 
and  at  that  sight  a  pain  carried  him  away  which  was  more 
savage  than  his  wound,  and  with  the  pain  sorrow,  and  with 
the  sorrow  shame  for  the  defeat  which  he  had  suffered. 

i  A  barber  in  that  age  and  in  those  regions  took  the  place  of  a  surgeon 
usually. 


PAN   MICHAEL.  331 

"  She  has  fled,  she  has  fled ! "  repeated  he,  continually ; 
and  rage  stifled  him  so  that  at  times  presence  of  mind 
seemed  to  be  leaving  him  again. 

"  Woe ! "  answered  he,  when  Halim  tried  to  pacify  him, 
and  give  assurance  that  Basia  could  not  escape  pursuit ;  and 
he  kicked  the  skins  with  which  the  old  Tartar  had  covered 
him,  and  with  his  knife  threatened  him  and  the  Greek.  He 
howled  like  a  wild  beast,  and  tried  to  spring  up,  wishing  to 
fly  himself  to  overtake  her,  to  seize  her,  and  then  from 
anger  and  wild  love  stifle  her  with  his  own  hands. 

At  times  he  was  wandering  in  delirium,  and  summoned 
Halim  to  bring  the  head  of  the  little  knight  quickly,  and 
to  confine  the  commandant's  wife,  bound,  there  in  that 
chamber.  At  times  he  talked  to  her,  'begged,  threatened ; 
then  he  stretched  out  his  hands  to  draw  her  to  him.  At  last 
he  fell  into  a  deep  sleep,  and  slept  for  twenty-four  hours ; 
when  he  woke  the  fever  had  left  him  entirely,  and  he  was 
able  to  see  Krychinski  and  Adurovich. 

They  were  anxious,  for  they  knew  not  what  to  do.  The 
troops  which  had  gone  out  under  young  Novoveski  were 
not  to  return,  it  is  true,  before  two  weeks ;  but  some  unex- 
pected event  might  hasten  their  coming,  and  then  it  was 
necessary  to  know  what  position  to  take.  It  is  true  that 
Krychinski  and  Adurovich  were  simply  feigning  a  return  to 
the  service  of  the  Commonwealth ;  but  Azya  was  managing 
the  whole  affair :  he  alone  could  give  them  directions  what 
to  do  in  emergency ;  he  alone  could  explain  on  which  side 
was  the  greatest  profit,  whether  to  return  to  the  dominions 
of  the  Sultan  or  to  pretend,  or  how  long  to  pretend,  that 
they  were  serving  the  Commonwealth.  They  both  knew 
well  that  in  the  end  of  ends  Azya  intended  to  betray  the 
Commonwealth ;  but  they  supposed  that  he  might  command 
them  to  wait  for  the  war  before  disclosing  their  treason,  so 
as  to  betray  most  effectively.  His  indications  were  to  be  a 
command  for  them ;  for  he  had  put  himself  on  them  as  a 
leader,  as  the  head  of  the  whole  affair,  the  most  crafty,  the 
most  influential,  and,  besides,  renowned  among  all  the  hordes 
as  the  son  of  Tugai  Bey. 

They  came  hurriedly,  therefore,  to  his  bed,  and  bowed 
before  him.  With  a  bandaged  face  and  only  one  eye,  he 
was  still  weak,  but  his  health  was  restored. 

"  I  am  sick,"  began  he,  at  once.  "  The  woman  that  I 
wished  to  take  with  me  tore  herself  out  of  my  hands,  after 
wounding  me  with  the  butt  of  a  pistol.  She  was  the  wife  of 


332  PAN  MICHAEL. 

Volodyovski,  the  commandant ;  may  pestilence  fall  oi>  him 
and  all  his  race ! " 

"  May  it  be  as  thou  hast  said ! "  answered  the  two  cap- 
tains. 

"May  God  grant  you,  faithful  •  men,  happiness  and 
success ! " 

"  And  to  thee  also,  oh,  lord ! "  answered  the  captains. 
Then  they  began  to  speak  of  what  they  ought  to  do. 

"It  is  impossible  to  delay,  or  to  defer  the  Sultan's  ser- 
vice till  war  begins,"  said  Azya;  "after  what  has  happened 
with  this  woman  they  will  not  trust  us,  and  will  attack  us 
with  sabres.  But  before  they  attack,  we  will  fall  upon  this 
place  and  burn  it,  for  the  glory  of  God.  The  handful  of  sol- 
diers we  will  seize ;  the  towns-people,  who  are  subjects  of  the 
Commonwealth,  we  will  take  captive,  divide  the  goods  of 
the  Wallachians,  Armenians,  and  Greeks,  and  go  beyond  the 
Dniester  to  the  land  of  the  Sultan." 

Krychinski  and  Adurovich  had  lived  as  nomads  among 
the  wildest  hordes  for  a  long  time,  had  robbed  with  them, 
and  grown  wild  altogether ;  their  eyes  lighted  up  therefore. 

"Thanks  to  you,"  said  Krychinski,  "  we  were  admitted  to 
this  place,  which  God  now  gives  to  us." 

"Did  Novoveski  make  no  opposition  ?  "  asked  Azya. 

"Novoveski  knew  that  we  were  passing  over  to  the 
Commonwealth,  and  knew  that  you  were  coming  to  meet  us  ; 
he  looks  on  us  as  his  men,  because  he  looked  on  you  as  his 
man." 

"We  remained  on  the  Moldavian  bank,"  put  in  Aduro- 
vich ;  "  but  Krychinski  and  I  went  as  guests  to  him.  He 
received  us  as  nobles,  for  he  said :  '  By  your  present  acts 
you  extinguish  former  offence  ;  and  since  the  hetman  for- 
gives you  on  Azya's  security,  't  is  not  proper  for  me  to  look 
askance  at  you.'  He  even  wished  us  to  enter  the  town ;  but 
we  said :  '  We  will  not  till  Azya,  Tugai  Bey's  son,  brings 
the  hetnmn's  permission.'  But  when  he  was  going  away 
he  gave  us  another  feast,  and  begged  us  to  watch  over 
the  town." 

"  At  that  feast,"  added  Krychinski,  "  we  saw  his  father, 
and  the  old  woman  who  is  searching  -for  her  captive  hus- 
band, and  that  young  lady  whom  Novoveski  intends  to 
marry." 

"  Ah ! "  said  Azya,  "  I  did  not  think  that  they  were  all 
here,  and  I  brought  Panna  Novoveski." 

He  clapped  his  hands ;  Halim  appeared  at  once,  and  Azya 


PAN  MICHAEL.  333 

said  to  him:  "When  my  men  see  the  flames  in  the  place, 
let  them  fall  on  those  soldiers  in  the  fortalice,  and  cut  their 
throats ;  let  them  bind  the  women  and  the  old  noble,  and 
guard  them  till  I  give  the  order." 

He  turned  to  Krychiuski  and  Adurovich,  —    • 

"I  will  not  assist  myself,  for  I  am  weak;  still,  I  will 
mount  my  horse  and  look  on.  But,  dear  comrades,  begin, 
begin ! " 

Krychinski  and  Adurovich  rushed  through  the  doorway 
at  once.  Azya  went  out  after  them,  and  gave  command  to 
lend  a  horse  to  him;  then  he  rode  to  the  stockade  to  look 
from  the  gate  of  the  high  fortalice  on  what  would  happen 
in  the  town. 

Many  of  his  men  had  begun  to  climb  the  wall  to  look 
through  the  stockade  and  sate  their  eyes  with  the  sight  of 
the  slaughter.  Those  of  Novoveski's  soldiers  who  had  not 
gone  to  the  steppe,  seeing  the  Lithuanian  Tartars  assem- 
bling, and  thinking  there  was  something  to  look  at  in  the 
town,  mixed  with  them  without  a  shadow  of  fear  or  suspi- 
cion. Moreover,  there  were  barely  twenty  of  those  soldiers ; 
the  rest  were  dispersed  in  the  dram-shops. 

Meanwhile  the  bands  of  Krychinski  and  Adurovich  scat- 
tered through  the  place  in  the  twinkle  of  an  eye.  The  men 
in  those  bands  were  almost  exclusively  Lithuanian  Tartars 
and  Cheremis,  therefore  former  inhabitants  of  the  Common- 
wealth, for  the  greater  part  nobles;  but  since  they  had 
left  its  borders  long  before,  during  that  time  of  wandering 
they  had  become  much  like  wild  Tartars.  Their  former 
clothing  had  gone  to  pieces,  and  they  were  dressed  in  sheep- 
skin coats  with  the  wool  outside.  These  coats  they  wore 
next  to  their  bodies,  which  were  embrowned  from  the  winds 
of  the  steppe  and  from  the  smoke  of  tires ;  but  their  weap- 
ons were  better  than  those  of  wild  Tartars,  —  all  had  sabres, 
all  had  bows  seasoned  in  fire,  and  many  had  muskets.  Their 
faces  expressed  the  same  cruelty  and  thirst  for  blood  as 
those  of  their  Dobrudja,  Belgrod,  or  Crimean  brethren. 

Now  scattering  through  the  town,  they  began  to  run 
about  in  various  directions,  shouting  shrilly,  as  if  wishing 
by  those  shouts  to  encourage  one  another,  and  excite  one 
another  to  slaughter  and  plunder.  But  "though  many  of 
them  had  put  knives  in  their  mouths  in  Tartar  fashion,  the 
people  of  the  place,  composed  as  in  Yampol  of  Wallachians. 
Armenians,  Greeks,  and  partly  of  Tartar  merchants,  looked 
on  them  without  any  distrust.  The  shops  were  open ;  the 


334  PAN  MICHAEL. 

merchants,  sitting  in  front  of  their  shops  in  Turkish  fashion 
on  benches,  slipped  their  beads  through  their  fingers.  The 
cries  of  the  Lithuanian  Tartars  merely  caused  men  to  look 
at  them  with  curiosity,  thinking  that  they  were  playing 
some  game". 

But  all  at  once  smoke  rose  from  the  corners  of  the  market 
square,  and  from  the  mouth  of  all  the  Tartars  came  a  howl- 
ing so  terrible  that  pale  fear  seized  the  Wallachians,  Arme- 
nians, and  Greeks,  and  all  their  wives  and  children. 

Straightway  a  shower  of  arrows  rained  on  the  peaceful 
inhabitants.  Their  cries,  the  noise  of  doors  and  windows 
closed  in  a  hurry,  were  mingled  with  the  tramp  of  horses 
and  the  howling  of  the  plunderers. 

The  market  was  covered  with  smoke.  Cries  of  "Woe, 
woe ! "  were  raised.  At  the  same  time  the  Tartars  fell  to 
breaking  open  shops  and  houses,  dragging  out  terrified 
women  by  the  hair ;  hurling  into  the  street  furniture, 
morocco,  merchandise,  beds  from  which  feathers  went  up 
in  a  cloud;  the  groans  of  slaughtered  men  were  heard, 
lamentation,  the  howling  of  dogs,  the  bellowing  of  cattle 
caught  by  fire  in  rear  buildings ;  red  tongues  of  flame, 
visible  even  in  the  daytime  on  the  black  rolls  of  smoke, 
were  shooting  higher  and  higher  toward  the  sky. 

In  the  fortalice  Azya's  cavalry-men  hurled  themselves 
at  the  very  beginning  on  the  infantry,  who  were  defenceless 
for  the  greater  part. 

There  was  no  struggle  whatever;  a  number  of  knives 
were  buried  in  each  Polish  breast  without  warning ;  then 
the  heads  of  the  unfortunates  were  cut  off  and  borne  to  the 
hoofs  of  Azya's  horse. 

Tugai  Bey's  son  permitted  most  of  his  men  to  join  their 
brethren  in  the  bloody  work;  but  he  himself  stood  and 
looked  on. 

Smoke  hid  the  work  of  Krychinski  and  Adurovich ;  the 
odor  of  burnt  flesh  rose  to  the  fortalice.  The  town  was 
burning  like  a  great  pile,  and  smoke  covered  the  view ; 
only  at  times  in  the  smoke  was  heard  the  report  of  a  mus- 
ket, like  thunder  in  a  cloud,  or  a  fleeing  man  was  seen,  or 
a  crowd  of  Tartars  pursuing. 

Azya  stood  still  and  looked  on  with  delight  in  his  heart ; 
a  stern  smile  parted  his  lips,  under  which  the  white  teeth 
were  gleaming :  this  smile  was  the  more  savage  because  it 
was  mingled  with  pain  from  the  drying  wounds.  Besides 
delight,  pride,  too,  rose  in  the  heart  of  Azya.  He  had  cast 


PAN  MICHAEL.  335 

from  his  breast  that  burden  of  feigning,  and  for  the  first 
time  he  gave  rein  to  his  hatred,  concealed  for  long  years ; 
now  he  felt  that  he  was  himself,  felt  that  he  was  the  real 
Azya,  the  son  of  Tugai  Bey.  But  at  the  same  time  there 
rose  in  him  a  savage  regret  that  Basia  was  not  looking  at 
that  fire,  at  that  slaughter;  that  she  could  not  see  him  in 
his  new  occupation.  He  loved  her,  but  a  wild  desire  for 
revenge  on  her  was  tearing  him.  "  She  ought  to  be  standing 
right  here  by  my  horse,"  thought  he,  "and  I  would  hold 
her  by  the  hair ;  she  would  grasp  at  my  feet,  and  then  I 
would  seize  her  and  kiss  her  on  the  mouth,  and  she  would 
be  mine,  mine  !  —  my  slave  ! " 

Only  the  hope  that  perhaps  that  detachment  sent  in  pur- 
suit, or  those  whicli  he  left  on  the  road,  would  bring  her 
back,  restrained  him  from  despair.  He  clung  to  that  hope 
as  a  drowning  man  to  a  plank,  and  that  gave  him  strength ; 
he  could  not  think  of  losing  her,  for  he  was  thinking  too 
much  of  the  moment  in  which  he  would  find  her  and 
take  her. 

He  remained  at  the  gate  till  the  slaughtered  town  had 
grown  still.  Stillness  came  soon,  for  the  bands  of  Kry- 
chinski  and  Adurovich  numbered  almost  as  many  heads  as 
the  town ;  therefore  the  burning  outlasted  the  groans  of  men 
and  roared  on  till  evening.  Azya  dismounted  and  went 
with  slow  steps  to  a  spacious  room  in  the  middle  of  which 
sheepskins  were  spread ;  on  these  he  sat  and  awaited  the 
coming  of  the  two  captains. 

They  came  soon,  and  with  them  the  sotniks.  Delight 
was  on  the  faces  of  all,  for  the  booty  had  surpassed  expec- 
tation ;  the  town  had  grown  much  since  the  time  of  the 
peasant  incursion,  and  was  wealthy.  They  had  taken  about 
a  hundred  young  women,  and  a  crowd  of  children  of  ten 
years  old  and  upward ;  these  could  be  sold  with  profit  in 
the  markets  of  the  East.  Old  women,  and  children  too 
small  and  unfit  for  the  road,  were  slaughtered.  The  hands 
of  the  Tartars  were  streaming  with  human  blood,  and  their 
sheepskin  coats  had  the  odor  of  burning  flesh.  All  took 
their  seats  around  Azya. 

"Only  a  pile  of  glowing  embers  behind  us,"  said  Kry- 
chinski.  "Before  the  command  returns"  we  might  go  to 
Yampol ;  there  is  as  much  wealth  of  every  kind  there  as 
in  Rashkoff,  —  perhaps  more." 

"No,"  answered  Azya,  "men  of  mine  are  in  Yampol  who 
will  burn  the  place ;  but  it  is  time  for  us  to  go  to  the  lands 
of  the  Khan  and  the  Sultan." 


336  PAN  MICHAEL. 

"  At  thy  command !  We  will  return  with  glory  and 
booty,"  said  the  captains  and  the  sergeants. 

"There  are  still  women  here  in  the  fortalice,  and  that 
noble  who  reared  me,"  said  Azya.  "A  just  reward  belongs 
to  them." 

He  clapped  his  hands  and  gave  command  to  bring  the 
prisoners. 

They  were  brought  without  delay,  —  Pani  Boski  in  tears ; 
.Zosia,  pale  as  a  kerchief ;  Eva  and  her  father.  Old  Pan 
Novoveski's  hands  and  feet  were  bound  with  ropes.  All 
were  terrified,  but  still  more  astonished  at  what  had  taken 
place.  Eva  was  lost  in  conjectures  as  to  what  had  become 
of  Pani  Volodyovski,  and  wondered  why  Azya  had  not 
shown  himself.  She,  not  knowing  why  there  was  slaughter 
in  the  town,  nor  why  she  and  her  friends  were  bound  as 
captives,  concluded  that  it  was  a  question  of  carrying  her 
away ;  that  Azya,  not  wishing  in  his  pride  to  beg  her  hand 
of  her  father,  had  fallen  into  a  rage  simply  out  of  love  for 
her,  and  had  determined  to  take  her  by  violence.  This  was 
all  terrible  in  itself ;  but  Eva,  at  least,  was  not  trembling 
for  her  own  life. 

The  prisoners  did  not  recognize  Azya,  for  his  face  was 
nearly  concealed:  but  all  the  more  did  terror  seize  the 
knees  of  the  women  at  the  first  moment,  for  they  judged 
that  wild  Tartars  had  in  some  incomprehensible  manner 
destroyed  the  Lithuanian  Tartars  and  gained  possession  of 
Rashkoff.  But  'the  sight  of  Krychinski  and  Adurovich 
convinced  them  that  they  were  still  in  the  hands  of  Lithu- 
anian Tartars. 

They  looked  at  one  another  some  time  in  silence ;  at  last 
old  Pan  Novoveski  asked,  with  an  uncertain  but  powerful 
voice,  — 

"  In  whose  hands  are  we  ?  " 

Azya  began  to  unwind  the  bandages  from  his  head,  and 
from  beneath  them  his  face  soon  appeared,  beautiful  on  a 
time,  though  wild,  deformed  now  forever,  with  a  broken 
nose  and  a  black  and  blue  spot  instead  of  an  eye,  —  a  face 
dreadful,  collected  in  cold  vengeance  and  with  a  smile  like 
convulsive  contortions.  He  was  silent  for  a  moment,  then 
fixed  his  burning  eye  on  the  old  man  and  said,  — 

"In  mine,  — in  the  hands  pf  Tugai  Bey's  son." 

But  old  Novoveski  knew  him  before  he-  spoke ;  and  Eva 
also  knew  him,  though  the  heart  was  straitened  in  her  from 
terror  and  disgust  at  sight  of  that  ghastly  visage.  The 


PAN  MICHAEL.  337 

maiden  covered  her  eyes  with  her  unbound  hands ;  and  the 
noble,  opening  his  mouth,  began  to  blink  with  astonishment 
and  repeat,  — 

"  Azya  !  Azya  !  " 

"  Whom  your  lordship  reared,  to  whom  you  were  a  father, 
and  whose  back  streamed  with  blood  under  your  parental 
hand." 

Blood  rushed  to  the  noble's  head. 

"Traitor,"  said  he,  "you  shall  answer  for  your  deeds 
before  a  judge.  Serpent !  I  have  a  son  yet." 

"And  you  have  a  daughter,"  answered  Azya,  "for  whose 
sake  you  gave  command  to  flog  me  to  death  ;  and  this 
daughter  I  will  give  now  to  the  last  of  the  horde,  so  that  he 
may  have  service  and  pleasure  from  her." 

"  Leader,  give  her  to  me  !  "  cried  Adurovich,  on  a  sudden. 

"  Azya !  Azya  !  "  cried  Eva,  throwing  herself  at  his  feet, 
"  I  have  always  —  " 

But  he  kicked  her  away  with  one  foot,  and  Adurovich 
seized  her  by  the  arms  and  began  to  drag  her  along  the 
floor.  Pan  Novoveski  from  purple  became  blue ;  the  ropes 
squeaked  on  his  arms,  as  he  twisted  them,  and  from  his 
mouth  came  unintelligible  words.  Azya  rose  from  the  skins 
and  went  toward  him,  at  first  slowly,  then  more  quickly, 
like  a  wild  beast  preparing  to  bound  on  its  prey.  At  last 
he  came  near,  seized  with  the  contorted  fingers  of  one  hand 
the  mustaches  of  old  Novoveski,  and  with  the  other  fell  to 
beating  him  without  mercy  on  face  and  head. 

A  hoarse  bellow  was  rent  from  his  throat  when  the  noble 
fell  to  the  floor ;  Azya  knelt  on  Novoveski's  breast,  and 
suddenly  the  bright  gleam  *of  a  knife  shone  in  the  room. 

"  Mercy  !  rescue  !  "  screamed  Eva.  But  Adurovich  struck 
her  on  the  head,  and  then  p\it  his  broad  hand  on  her  mouth ; 
meanwhile  Azya  was  cutting  the  throat  of  Pan  Novoveski. 

The  spectacle  was  so  ghastly  that  it  chilled  even  the 
breasts  of  the  Tartars ;  for  Azya,  with  calculated  cruelty,  drew 
his  knife  slowly  across  the  neck  of  the  ill-fated  noble,  who 
gasped  and  choked  awfully.  From  his  open  veins  the 
blood  spurted  more  and  more  violently  on  the  hands  of  the 
murderer  and  flowed  in  a  stream  along  the  floor.  Then 
the  rattling  and  gurgling  ceased  by  degrees ;  finally  air  was 
wheezing  in  the  severed  throat,  and  the  feet  of  the  dying 
man  dug  the  floor  in  convulsive  quivers. 

Azya  rose ;  his  eyes  fell  now  on  the  pale  and  sweet  face 
of  Zosia  Boski,  who  seemed  dead,  for  she  was  hanging 

29 


338  PAN  MICHAEL. 

senseless  on  the  arm  of  a  Tartar  who  was  holding  her,  and 
he  said,  — 

"  I  will  keep  this  girl  for  myself,  till  I  give  her  away  or 
sell  her." 

Then  he  turned  to  the  Tartars  :  "  Now  only  let  the  pursuit 
return,  and  we  will  go  to  the  lands  of  the  Sultan." 

The  pursuit  returned  two  days  later,  but  with  empty 
hands.  Tugai  Bey's  son  went,  therefore,  to  the  land  of  the 
Sultan  with  despair  and  rage  in  his  heart,  leaving  behind 
him  a  gray  and  bluish  pile  of  ruins. 


PAN  MICHAEL.  339 


CHAPTER  XLI. 

THE  towns  through  which  Basia  passed  in  going  from 
Hreptyoff  to  Rashkoff  were  separated  from  each  other  by 
ten  or  twelve  Ukraine  miles, l  and  that  road  by  the  Dniester 
was  about  thirty  miles  long.  It  is  true  that  they  started 
each  morning  in  the  dark,  and  did  not  stop  till  late  in  the 
evening ;  still,  they  made  the  whole  journey,  including  time 
for  refreshment,  and  in  spite  of  difficult  crossings  and  pass- 
ages, in  three  days.  People  of  that  time  and  troops  did  not 
make  such  quick  journeys  usually  ;  but  whoso  had  the  will, 
or  was  put  to  it,  could  make  them.  In  view  of  this,  Basia 
calculated  that  the  journey  back  to  Hreptyoff  ought  to  take 
less  time,  especially  as  she  was  making  it  on  horseback, 
and  as  it  was  a  flight  in  which  salvation  depended  orT 
swiftness. 

But  she  noted  her  error  the  first  day,  for  unable  to  escape 
on  the  road  by  the  Dniester,  she  went  through  the  steppes 
and  had  to  make  broad  circuits.  Besides  she  might  go 
astray,  and  it  was  probable  that  she  would ;  she  might  meet 
with  thawed  rivers,  impassable,  dense  forests,  swamps 
not  freezing  even  in  winter ;  she  might  come  to  harm  from 
people  or  beasts,  —  therefore,  though  she  intended  to  push 
on  continually,  even  at  night,  she  was  confirmed  in  the  con- 
viction in  spite  of  herself  that,  even  if  all  went  well  with 
her,  God  knew  when  she  would  be  in  Hreptyoff. 

She  had  succeeded  in  tearing  herself  from  the  arms  of 
Azya ;  but  what  would  happen  farther  on  ?  Doubtless  any- 
thing was  better  than  those  infamous  arms ;  still,  at  thought 
of  what  was  awaiting  her  the  blood  became  icy  in  her  veins. 

It  occurred  at  once  to  her  that  if  she  spared  the  horses 
she  might  be  overtaken  by  Azya's  men,  who  knew  those 
steppes  thoroughly ;  and  to  hide  from  discovery,  from  pur- 
suit, was  almost  impossible.  They  pursued  Tartars  whole 
days  even  in  spring  and  summer  when  horses'  hoofs  left  no 
trace  on  the  snow  or  in  soft  earth  ;  they  read  the  steppe  as 
an  open  book ;  they  gazed  over  those  plains  like  eagles ;  they 

1  Each  nearly  equal  to  five  English  miles. 


340  PAN  MICHAEL. 

knew  how  to  sniff  a  trail  in  them  like  hunting  dogs  ;  their 
whole  life  was  passed  in  pursuing.  Vainly  had  Tartars 
gone  time  and  again  in  the  water  of  streams  so  as  not  to 
leave  traces ;  Cossacks,  Lithuanian  Tartars,  and  Cheremis, 
as  well  as  Polish  raiders  of  the  steppe,  knew  how  to  find 
them,  to  answer  their  "  methods  "  with  "  methods,"  and  to 
attack  as  suddenly  as  if  they  had  sprung  up  through  the 
earth.  How  was  she  to  escape  from  such  people  unless 
to  leave  them  so  far  in  the  rear  that  distance  itself  would 
make  pursuit  impossible  ?  But  in  such  an  event  her  horses 
would  fall. 

"  They  will  fall  dead  without  fail,  if  they  continue  to  go 
as  they  have  gone  so  far,"  thought  Basia,  with  terror,  look- 
ing at  their  wet,  steaming  sides,  and  at  the  foam  which  was 
falling  in  flakes  to  the  ground. 

Therefore  she  slackened  their  speed  from  time  to  time 
and  listened;  but  in  every  breath  of  wind,  in  the  rustling  of 
leaves  on  the  edge  of  ravines,  in  the  dry  rubbing  of  the 
withered  steppe  reeds  against  one  another,  in  the  noise 
made  by  the  wings  of  a  passing  bird,  even  in  the  silence  of 
the  wilderness,  which  was  sounding  in  her  ears,  she  heard 
voices  of  pursuit,  and  terrified  urged  on  her  horses  again, 
and  ran  with  wild  impetus  till  their  snorting  declared  that 
they  could  not  continue  at  that  speed. 

The  burden  of  loneliness  and  weakness  pressed  her  down 
more  and  more.  Ah !  what  an  orphan  she  felt  herself ; 
what  regret,  as  immense  as  unreasoning,  rose  in  her  heart 
for  all  people,  the  nearest  and  dearest,  who  had  so  forsaken 
her !  Then  she  thought  that  surely  it  was  God  punishing 
her  for  her  passion  for  adventures,  for  her  hurrying  to  every 
hunt,  to  expeditions,  frequently  against  the  will  of  her 
husband ;  for  her  giddiness  and  lack  of  sedateness. 

When  she  thought  of  this  she  wept,  and  raising  her  head 
began  to  repeat,  sobbing,  — 

"  Chastise,  but  do  not  desert  me  !  Do  not  punish  Michael ! 
Michael  is  innocent." 

Meanwhile  night  was  approaching,  and  with  it  cold, 
darkness,  uncertainty  of  the  road,  and  alarm.  Objects  had 
begun  to  efface  themselves,  grow  dim,  lose  definite  forms, 
and  also  to  become,  as  it  were,  mysteriously  alive  and 
expectant.  Protuberances  on  lofty  rocks  looked  like  heads 
in  pointed  and  round  caps,  —  heads  peering  out  from 
behind  gigantic  walls  of  some  kind,  and  gazing  in  silence 
and  malignity  to  see  who  was  passing  below.  Tree 


PAN  MICHAEL.  341 

branches,  stirred  by  the  breeze,  made  motions  like  people : 
some  of  these  beckoned  to  Basia  as  if  wishing  to  call  her 
and  confide  to  her  some  terrible  secret ;  others  seemed  to 
speak  and  give  warning :  "  Do  not  come  near !  "  The  trunks 
of  uprooted  trees  seemed  like  monstrous  creatures  crouching 
for  a  spring.  Basia  was  daring,  very  daring,  but,  like  all 
people  of  that  period,  she  was  superstitious.  When  dark- 
ness came  down* completely,  the  hair  rose  on  her  head,  .and 
shivers  passed  through  her  body  at  thought  of  the  un- 
clean powers  that  might  dwell  in  those  regions.  She  feared 
vampires  especially  ;  belief  in  them  was  spread  particu- 
larly in  the  Dniester  country  by  reason  of  nearness  to 
Moldavia,  and  just  the  places  around  Yampol  and  Rashkoff 
were  ill-famed  in  that  regard.  How  many  people  there 
left  the  world  day  by  day  through  sudden  death,  with- 
out confession  or  absolution !  Basia  remembered  all  the 
tales  which  the  knights  had  told  at  Hreptyoff,  on  even- 
ings at  the  fireside,  —  stories  of  deep  valleys  in  which, 
when  the  wind  howled,  sudden  groans  were  heard  of 
"  Jesus,  Jesus ! "  of  pale  lights  in  which  something  was 
snorting ;  of  laughing  cliffs ;  of  pale  children,  suckling 
infants  with  green  eyes  and  monstrous  heads, —  infants 
which  implored  to  be  taken  on  horseback,  and  when  taken 
began  to  suck  blood;  finally,  of  heads  without  bodies, 
walking  on  spider  legs ;  and  most. terrible  of  all  those  ghastli- 
nesses,  vampires  of  full  size,  or  brukolaki,  so  called  in 
Wallachia,  who  hurled  themselves  on  people  directly. 

Then  she  began  to  make  the  sign  of  the  cross,  and  she 
did  not  stop  till  her  hand  had  grown  weak ;  but  even  then 
she  repeated  the  litany,  for  no  other  weapons  were  effective 
against  unclean  powers. 

The  horses  gave  her  consolation,  for  they  showed  no 
fear,  snorting  briskly.  At  times  she  patted  her  pony,  as 
if  wishing  in  that  way  to  convince  herself  that  she  was  in  a 
real  world. 

The  night,  very  dark  at  first,  became  clearer  by  degrees, 
and  at  last  the  stars  began  to  glimmer  through  the  thin  mist. 
For  Basia  this  was  an  uncommonly  favorable  circum- 
stance, —  first,  because  her  fear  decreased ;  and  secondly, 
because  by  observing  the  Great  Bear,  she'could  turn  to  the 
north,  or  in  the  direction  of  Hreptyoff.  Looking  on  the 
region  about,  she  calculated  that  she  had  gone  a  consider- 
able distance  from  the  Dniester ;  for  there  were  fewer  rocks, 
more  open  country,  more  hills  covered  with  oak  groves,  and 


342  PAN   MICHAEL. 

frequently  broad  plains.  Time  after  time,  however,  she 
was  forced  to  cross  ravines,  and  she  went  down  into  them 
with  fear  in  her  heart,  for  in  the  depths  of  those  places  it 
was  always  dark,  and  a  harsh,  piercing  cold  was  there. 
Some  were  so  steep  that  she  was  forced  to  go  around 
them ;  from  this  came  great  loss  of  time  and  an  addition 
to  the  journey. 

It  was  worse,  however,  with  streams  and  rivers,  and  a 
whole  system  of  these  flowed  from  the  East  to  the  Dniester. 
All  were  thawed,  and  the  horses  snorted  with  fear  when 
they  went  at  night  into  strange  water  of  unknown  depth. 
Basia  crossed  only  in  places  where  the  sloping  bank 
allowed  the  supposition  that  the  water,  widely  spread 
there,  was  shallow.  In  fact,  it  was  so  in  most  cases ;  at 
some  crossings,  however,  the  water  reached  halfway  to  the 
backs  of  her  horses  :  Basia  then  knelt,  in  soldier  fashion, 
on  the  saddle,  and,  holding  to  the  pommel,  tried  not  to 
wet  her  feet.  But  she  did  not  succeed  always  in  this,  and 
soon  a  piercing  cold  seized  her  from  feet  to  knees. 

"God  give  me  daylight,  I  will  go  more  quickly," 
repeated  she,  from  time  to  time. 

At  last  she  rode  out  onto  a  broad  plain  with  a  sparse 
forest,  and  seeing  that  the  horses  were  barely  dragging 
their  legs,  she  halted  for  rest.  Both  stretched  their  necks 
to  the  ground  at  the  same  time,  and  putting  forward  one 
foot,  began  to  pluck  moss  and  withered  grass  eagerly. 
In  the  forest  there  was  perfect  silence,  unbroken  save  by 
the  sharp  breathing  of  the  horses  and  the  crunching  of 
the  grass  in  their  powerful  jaws. 

When  they  had  satisfied,  or  rather  deceived,  their  first 
hunger,  both  horses  wished  evidently  to  roll,  but  Basia 
might  not  indulge  them  in  that.  She  dared  not  loosen  the 
girths  and  come  to  the  ground  herself,  for  she  wished  to 
be  ready  at  every  moment  for  further  flight. 

She  sat  on  Azya's  horse,  however,  for  her  own  had 
carried  her  from  the  last  resting-place,  and  though  strong, 
and  with  noble  blood  in  his  veins,  he  was  more  delicate  than 
the  other. 

When  she  had  changed  horses,  she  felt  a  hunger  after 
the  thirst  which  she  had  quenched  a  number  of  times 
while  crossing  the  rivers  ;  she  began  therefore  to  eat  the 
seeds  which  she  had  found  in  the  bag  at  Azya's  saddle-bow. 
They  seemed  to  her  very  good,  though  a  little  bitter ;  she 
ate,  thanking  God  for  the  unlooked-for  refreshment. 


PAN   MICHAEL.  34;j 

But  she  ate  sparingly,  so  that  they  might  last  to  Hreptyoff. 
Soon  sleep  began  to  close  her  eyelids  with  irresistible 
power;  and  when  the  movement  of  the  horse  ceased  to 
give  warmth,  a  sharp  cold  pierced  her.  Her  feet  were 
perfectly  stiff;  she  felt  also  an  immeasurable  weariness 
in  her  whole  body,  especially  in  her  back  and  shouldetd, 
strained  with  struggling  against  Azya.  A  great  weakness 
seized  her,  and  her  eyes  closed. 

But  after  a  while  she  opened  them  with  effort.  "No! 
In  the  daytime,  in  time  of  journeying,  I  will  sleep," 
thought  she  ;  "  but  if  I  sleep  now  I  shall  freeze." 

But  her  thoughts -grew  more  confused,  or  came  helter- 
skelter,  presenting  disordered  images,  — in  which  the  forest, 
flight  and  pursuit,  Azya,  the  little  knight,  Eva,  and  the 
last  event  were  mingled  together  half  in  a  dream,  half  in 
clear  vision.  All  this  was  rushing  on  somewhere  as  waves 
rush  driven  by  the  wind;  and  she,  Basia,  runs  with  them, 
without  fear,  without  joy,  as  if  she  were  travelling  by  con- 
tract. Azya,  as  it  were,  was  pursuing  her,  but  at  the  same 
time  was  talking  to  her,  and  anxious  about  the  horse  ;  Pan 
Zagloba  was  angry  because  supper  would  get  cold ;  Michael 
was  showing  the  road  ;  and  Eva  was  coming  behind  in  the 
sleigh,  eating  dates. 

Then  those  persons  became  more  and  more  effaced,  as  if 
a  foggy  curtain  or  darkness  had  begun  to  conceal  them,  and 
they  vanished  by  degrees  ;  there  remained  only  a  certain 
strange  darkness,  which,  though  the  eye  did  not  pierce  it, 
seemed  still  to  be  empty,  and  to  extend  an  immeasurable 
distance.  This  darkness  penetrated  every  place,  penetrated 
Basia's  head,  and  quenched  in  it  all  visions,  all  thoughts, 
as  a  blast  of  wind  quenches  torches  at  night  in  the  open  air. 

Basia  fell  asleep ;  but  fortunately  for  her,  before  the  cold 
could  stiffen  the  blood  in  her  veins,  an  unusual  noise  roused 
her.     The  horses  started  on  a  sudden ;  evidently  somethin' 
uncommon  was  happening  in  the  forest. 

Basia,  regaining  consciousness  in  one  moment,  grasped 
Azya's  musket,  and  bending  on  the  horse,  with  collected 
attention  and  distended  nostrils,  began  to  listen.  Hers  was 
a  nature  of  such  kind  that  every  peril  roused  wariness  at 
the  first  twinkle  of  an  eye,  daring  and  readiness  for  defence. 

The  noise  which  roused  her  was  the  grunting  of  wild 
pigs.  Whether  beasts  were  stealing  up  to  the  young  pigs, 
or  the  old  boars  were  going  to  fight,  it  is  enough  that  the 
whole  forest  resounded  immediately.  That  uproar  took 


344  PAN  MICHAEL. 

place  beyond  doubt  at  a  distance ;  but  in  the  stillness  of 
night,  and  the  general  drowsiness,  it  seemed  so  near  that 
Basia  heard  not  only  grunting  and  squeals,  but  the  loud 
whistle  of  nostrils  breathing  heavily.  Suddenly  a  break- 
ing and  tramp,  the  crash  of  broken  twigs,  and  a  whole  herd, 
though  invisible  to  Basia,  rushed  past  in  the  neighborhood, 
and  sank  in  the  depth  of  the  forest. 

But  in  that  incorrigible  Basia,  notwithstanding  her  ter- 
rible position,  the  feeling  of  a  hunter  was  roused  in  a 
twinkle,  and  she  was  sorry  that  she  had  not  seen  the  herd 
rushing  by. 

"  One  would  like  to  see  a  little,"  said  she,  in  her  mind  ; 
"but  no  matter  !  Riding  in  this  way  through  forests,  surely 
I  shall  see  something  yet." 

And  only  after  that  thought  did  she  push  on,  remember- 
ing that  it  was  better  to  see  nothing  and  flee  with  all  speed. 

It  was  impossible  to  halt  longer,  because  the  cold  seized 
her  more  acutely,  and  the  movement  of  the  horse  warmed 
her  a  good  deal,  while  wearying  her  comparatively  little. 
But  the  horses,  having  snatched  merely  some  moss  and 
frozen  grass,  moved  very  reluctantly,  and  with  drooping 
heads.  The  hoar-frost  in  time  of  halting  had  covered  their 
sides,  and  it  seemed  that  they  barely  dragged  their  legs 
forward.  They  had  gone,  moreover,  since  the  afternoon 
rest  almost  without  drawing  breath. 

When  she  had  crossed  the  plain,  with  her  eyes  fixed  on 
the  Great  Bear  in  the  heavens,  Basia  disappeared  in  the 
forest,  which  was  not  very  dense,  but  in  a  hilly  region  inter- 
sected with  narrow  ravines.  It  became  darker  too ;  not  only 
because  of  the  shade  cast  by  spreading  trees,  but  also  because 
a  fog  rose  from  the  earth  and  hid  the  stars.  She  was  forced 
to  go  at  random.  The  ravines  alone  gave  some  indication 
that  she  was  taking  the  right  course,  for  she  knew  that  they 
all  extended  from  the  east -toward  the  Dniester,  and  that  by 
crossing  new  ones,  she  was  going  continually  toward  the 
north.  But  in  spite  of  this  indication,  she  thought,  "  I  am 
ever  in  danger  of  approaching  the  Dniester  too  nearly,  or 
of  going  too  far  from  it.  To  do  either  is  perilous  :  in  the 
first  case,  I  should  make  an  enormous  journey;  in  the  second, 
I  might  come  out  at  Yampol,  and  fall  into  the  hands  of  my 
enemies."  Whether  she  was  yet  before  Yampol,  or  just  on 
the  heights  above  it,  or  had  left  that  place  behind,  of  this 
she  had  not  the  faintest  idea. 

"There  is  more  chance  to  know  when  I  pass  Mohiloff,'' 


PAN  MICHAEL.  345 

said  she ;  "  for  it  lies  in  a  great  ravine,  which  extends  far ; 
perhaps  I  shall  recognize  it." 

Then  she  looked  at  the  sky  and  thought :  "  God  grant  me 
only  to  go  beyond  Mohiloff ;  for  there  Michael's  dominion 
begins ;  there  nothing  will  frighten  me." 

Now  the  night  became  darker.  Fortunately  snow  was 
lying  in  the  forest,  and  on  the  white  ground  she  could  dis- 
tinguish the  dark  trunks  of  trees,  see  the  lower  limbs  and 
avoid  them.  But  Basia  had  to  ride  more  slowly ;  therefore 
that  terror  of  unclean  powers  fell  on  her  soul  again,  —  that 
terror  which  in  the  beginning  of  the  night  had  chilled  her 
blood  as  if  with  ice. 

"  But  if  I  see  gleaming  eyes  low  down,"  said  she  to  her 
frightened  soul,  "  that 's  nothing  !  it  will  be  a  wolf ;  but  if 
at  the  height  of  a  man  —  At  that  moment,  she  cried 
aloud,  "  In  the  name  of  the  Father,  Son  —  " 

Was  that,  perhaps,  a  wild-cat  sitting  on  a  limb  ?  It  is 
sufficient  that  Basia  saw  clearly  a  pair  of  gleaming  eyes,  at 
the  height  of  a  man. 

From  fear,  her  eyes  were  covered  with  a  mist;  but  when 
she  looked  again  there  was  nothing  to  be  seen,  and  nothing 
heard  beyond  a  rustle  among  the  branches,  but  her  heart 
beat  as  loudly  as  if  it  would  burst  open  her  bosom. 

And  she  rode  farther ;  long,  long,  she  rode,  sighing  for 
the  light  of  day  ;  but  the  night  stretched  out  beyond  meas- 
ure. Soon  after,  a  river  barred  her  road  again.  Basia  was 
already  far  enough  beyond  Yampol,  on  the  bank  of  the 
Rosava;  but  without  knowledge  of  where  she  was,  she 
thought  merely  that  if  she  continued  to  push  forward  to 
the  north,  she  would  soon  meet  a  new  river.  She  thought 
too  that  the  night  must  be  near  its  end ;  for  the  cold  increased 
sensibly,  the  fog  fell  away,  and  stars  appeared  again,  but 
dimmer,  beaming  with  uncertain  light. 

At  length  darkness  began  to  pale.  Trunks  of  trees, 
branches,  twigs,  grew  more  visible.  Perfect  silence  reigned 
in  the  forest,  —  the  dawn  had  come. 

After  a  certain  time  Basia  could  distinguish  the  color  of 
the  horses.  At  last  in  the  east,  among  the  branches  of 
the  trees,  a  bright  streak  appeared,  —  the  day  was  there,  a 
clear  day. 

Basia  felt  weariness  immeasurable.  Her  mouth  opened 
in  continual  yawning,  and  her  eyes  closed  soon  after;  she 
slept  soundly  but  a  short  time,  for  a  branch,  against  which 
her  head  came,  roused  her.  Happily  the  horses  were  going 


346  PAN  MICHAEL. 

very  slowly,  nipping  moss  by  the  way;  hence  the  blow 
was  so  slight  that  it  caused  her  no  harm.  The  sun  had 
risen,  and  was  pale ;  its  beautiful  rays  broke  through 
leafless  branches.  At  sight  of  this,  consolation  entered 
Basia's  heart;  she  had  left  between  her  and  pursuit  so 
many  steppes,  mountains,  ravines,  and  a  whole  night. 

"If  those  from  Yampol,  or  Mohiloff,  do  not  seize  me, 
others  will  not  come  up,"  said  she  to  herself. 

She  reckoned  on  this  too, — that  in  the  beginning  of  her 
flight  she  had  gone  by  a  rocky  road,  therefore  hoofs  could 
leave  no  traces.  But  doubt  began  to  seize  her  again.  The 
Lithuanian  Tartars  will  find  tracks  even  on  stones,  and  will 
pursue  stubbornly,  unless  their  horses  fall  dead;  this  last  sup- 
position was  most  likely.  It  was  sufficient  for  Basia  to  look 
at  her  own  beasts ;  their  sides  had  fallen  in,  their  heads  were 
drooping,  their  eyes  dim.  While  moving  along,  they  dropped 
their  heads  to  the  ground  time  after  time,  to  seize  moss,  or  nip 
in  passing  red  leaves  withering  here  and  there  on  the  low  oak 
bushes.  It  must  be  too  that  fever  was  tormenting  Basia, 
for  at  all  crossings  she  drank  eagerly. 

Nevertheless,  when  she  came  out  on  an  open  plain  be- 
tween two  forests,  she  urged  the  wearied  horses  forward  at 
a  gallop,  and  went  at  that  pace  to  the  next  forest. 

After  she  had  passed  that  forest  she  came  to  a  second 
plain,  still  wider  and  more  broken;  behind  hills  at  a  dis- 
tance of  a  mile  or  more  smoke  was  rising,  as  straight  as  a 
pine-tree,  toward  the  sky.  That  was  the  first  inhabited 
place  that  Basia  had  met ;  for  that  country,  excepting  the 
river-bank  itself,  was  a  desert,  or  rather  had  been  turned 
into  a  desert,  not  only  in  consequence  of  Tartar  attacks,  but 
by  reason  of  continuous  Polish-Cossack  wars.  After  the 
last  campaign  of  Pan  Charnetski,  to  whom  Busha  fell  a 
victim,  the  small  towns  came  td  be  wretched  settlements, 
the  villages  were  overgrown  with  young  forests;  but  after 
Charnetski,  there  were  so  many  expeditions,  so  many  bat- 
tles, so  many  slaughters,  down  to  the  most  recent  times,  in 
which  the  great  Sobieski  had  wrested  those  regions  from 
the  enemy.  Life  had  begun  to  increase ;  but  that  one 
tract  through  which  Basia  was  fleeing  was  specially  empty, 
—  only  robbers  had  taken  refuge  there,  but  even  they  had 
been  well-nigh  exterminated  by  the  commands  at  Rashkoff, 
Yampol,  and  Hreptyoff. 

Basia's  first  thought  at  sight  of  this  smoke  was  to  ride 
toward  it,  find  a  house  or  even  a  hut,  or  if  nothing  more, 


PAN  MICHAEL.  347 

a  simple  fire,  warm  herself  and  gain  strength.  But  soon 
it  occurred  to  her  that  in  those  regions  it  was  safer  to 
meet  a  pack  of  wolves  than  to  meet  men  ;  men  there  were, 
more  merciless  and  savage  than  wild  beasts.  Nay,  it 
behooved  her  to  urge  forward  her  horses,  and  pass  that 
forest  haunt  of  men  with  all  speed,  for  only  death  could 
await  her  in  that  place. 

At  the  very  edge  of  the  opposite  forest  Basia  saw  a  small 
stack  of  hay ;  so,  paying  no  attention  to  anything,  she 
stopped  at  it  to  feed  her  horses.  They  ate  greedily,  thrust- 
ing their  heads  at  once  to  their  ears  in  the  hay,  and  drawing 
out  great  bunches  of  it.  Unfortunately  their  bits  hindered 
them  greatly  ;  but  Basia  could  not  unbridle  them,  reason- 
ing correctly  in  this  way  :  — 

"  Where  smoke  is  there  must  be  a  house ;  as  there  is  a 
stack  here,  they  must  have  horses  there  on  which  they 
could  follow  me,  —  therefore  I  must  be  ready." 

She  spent,  however,  about  an  hour  at  the  stack,  so  that 
the  horses  ate  fairly  well ;  and  she  herself  ate  some  seeds. 
She  then  moved  on,  and  when  she  had  travelled  a  number 
of  furlongs,  all  at  once  she  saw  before  her  two  persons 
carrying  bundles  of  twigs  on  their  backs. 

One  was  a  man  not  old,  but  not  in  his  first  youth,  with  a 
face  pitted  with  small-pox,  and  with  crooked  eyes,  ugly, 
repulsive,  with  a  cruel,  ferocious  expression  of  face  ;  the 
other,  a  stripling,  was  idiotic.  This  was  to  be  seen  at  the 
first  glance,  by  his  stupid  smile  and  wandering  look. 

Both  threw  down  their  bundles  of  twigs  at  sight  of  the 
armed  horseman,  and  seemed  to  be  greatly  alarmed.  But 
the  meeting  was  so  sudden,  and  they  were  so  neaj,  that  they 
could  not  flee. 

"Glory  be  to  God!"  said  Basia. 

"  For  the  ages  of  ages." 

"  What  is  the  name  of  this  farm  ?" 

"  What  should  its  name  be  ?    There  is  the  cabin." 

"Is  it  far  to  Mohiloff?" 

"We  know  not." 

Here  the  man  began  to  scrutinize  Basia's  face  carefully. 
Since  she  wore  man's  apparel  he  took  her  for  a  youth ;  inso- 
lence and  cruelty  came  at  once  to  his  face  instead  of  the 
recent  timidity. 

"  But  why  are  you  so  voung,  Pan  Knight  ?  " 

"  What  is  that  to  you  ?  " 

"  And  are  you  travelling  alone  ?  "  asked  the  peasant, 
advancing  a  step. 


348  PAN  MICHAEL. 

"Troops  are  following  me." 

He  halted,  looked  over  the  immense  plain,  and  an- 
swered, — 

"  Not  true.     There  is  no  one." 

He  advanced  two  steps ;  his  crooked  eyes  gave  out  a  sullen 
gleam,  and  arranging  his  mouth  he  began  to  imitate  the  call 
of  a  quail,  evidently  wishing  to  summon  some  one  in  that 
way. 

All  this  seemed  to  Basia  very  hostile,  and  she  aimed  a 
pistol  at  his  breast  without  hesitation,  — 

"Silence,  or  thou 'It  die !  " 

The  man  stopped,  and,  what  is  more,  threw  himself  flat  on 
the  ground.  The  idiot  did  the  same,  but  began  to  howl  like 
a  wolf  from  terror  ;  perhaps  he  had  lost  his  mind  on  a  time 
from  the  same  feeling,  for  now  his  howling  recalled  the 
most  ghastly  terror. 

Basia  urged  forward  her  horses,  and  shot  on  like  an 
arrow.  Fortunately  there  was  no  undergrowth  in  the  for- 
est, and  trees  were  far  apart.  Soon  a  new  plain  appeared, 
narrow,  but  very  long.  The  horses  had  gained  fresh  strength 
from  eating  at  the  stack,  and  rushed  like  the  wind. 

"  They  will  run  home,  mount  their  horses,  and  pursue 
me,"  thought  Basia. 

Her  only  solace  was  that  the  horses  travelled  well,  and 
that  the  place  where  she  met  the  men  was  rather  far  from 
the  house. 

"Before  they  can  reach  the  house  and  bring  out  the 
horses,  I,  riding  in  this  way,  shall  be  five  miles  or  more 
ahead." 

That  was-  the  case  ;  but  when  some  hours  had  passed,  and 
Basia,  convinced  that  she  was  not  followed,  slackened  speed, 
great  fear,  great  depression,  seized  her  heart,  and  tears  came 
perforce  to  her  eyes. 

This  meeting  showed  her  what  people  in  those  regions 
were,  and  what  might  be  looked  for  from  them.  It  is  true 
that  this  knowledge  was  not  unexpected.  From  her  own 
experience,  and  from  the  narratives  at  Hreptyoff,  she  knew 
that  the  former  peaceful  settlers  had  gone  from  those  wilds, 
or  that  war  had  devoured  them  ;  those  who  remained  were 
living  in  continual  alarm,  amid  terrible  civil  disturbance 
and  Tartar  attacks,  in  conditions  in  which  one  man  is  a 
wolf  toward  another ;  they  were  living  without  churches 
or  faith,  without  other  principles  than  those  of  bloodshed 
and  burning,  without  knowing  any  right  but  that  of  the 


PAN  MICHAEL.  ;;|'.l 

strong  hand  ;  they  had  lost  all  human  feelings,  and  grown 
wild,  like  the  beasts  of  the  forest.  Basia  knew  this  well; 
still,  a  human  being,  astray  in  the  wilderness,  harassed  by 
cold  and  hunger,  turns  involuntarily  for  aid  first  of  all  to 
kindred  beings.  So  did  Basia  when  she  saw  that  smoke 
indicating  a  habitation  of  people ;  following  involuntarily 
the  first  impulse  of  her  heart,  she  wished  to  rush  to  it, 
greet  the  inhabitants  with  God's  name,  and  rest  her  wearied 
head  under  their  roof.  But  cruel  reality  bared  its  teeth  at 
her  quickly,  like  a  fierce  dog.  Hence  her  heart  was  tilled 
with  bitterness ;  tears  of  sorrow  and  disappointment  came 
to  her  eyes. 

"  Help  from  no  one  but  God,"  thought  she ;  "  may  I  meet 
no  person  again."  Then  she  fell  to  thinking  why  that  man 
had  begun  to  imitate  a  quail.  "  There  must  be  others  there 
surely,  and  he  wanted  to  call  them."  It  came  to  her  head 
that  there  were  robbers  in  that  tract,  who,  driven  out  of  the 
ravines  near  the  river,  had  betaken  themselves  to  the  wilds 
farther  off  in  the  country,  where  the  nearness  of  broad 
steppes  gave  them  more  safety  and  easier  escape  in  case  of 
need. 

"  But  what  will  happen,"  inquired  Basia,  "  if  I  meet  a 
number  of  men,  or  more  than  a  dozen  ?  The  musket,  —  that 
is  one ;  two  pistols,  —  two  ;  a  sabre,  —  let  us  suppose  two 
more ;  but  if  the  number  is  greater  than  this,  I  shall  die  a 
dreadful  death." 

And  as  in  the  previous  night  with  its  alarms  she  had 
wished  day  to  come  as  quickly  as  possible,  so  now  she 
looked  with  yearning  for  darkness  to  hide  her  more  easily 
from  evil  eyes. 

Twice  more,  during  persistent  riding,  did  it  seem  to  her 
that  she  was  passing  near  people.  Once  she  saw  on  the 
edge  of  a  high  plain  a  number  of  cabins.  Maybe  robbers 
by  vocation  were  not  living  in  them,  but  she  preferred  to 
pass  at  a  gallop,  knowing  that  even  villagers  are  not  much 
better  than  robbers ;  another  time  she  heard  the  sound  of 
axes  cutting  wood. 

The  wished-for  night  covered  the  earth  at  last.  Basia 
was  so  wearied  that  when  she  came  to  a  naked  steppe,  free 
from  forest,  she  said  to  herself,  — 

"  Here  I  shall  not  be  crushed  against  a  tree ;  I  will  sleep 
right  away,  even  if  I  freeze." 

When  she  was  closing  her  eyes  it  seemed  to  her  that 
far  off  in  the  distance,  in  the  white  snow,  she  saw  a  num- 


350  1JAN  MICHAEL. 

her  of  black  points  which  were  moving  in  various  directions. 
For  a  while  longer  she  overcame  her  sleep.  "  Those  are 
surely  wolves,"  muttered  she,  quietly. 

Before  she  had  gone  many  yards,  those  points  disap- 
peared; then  she  fell  asleep  so  soundly  that  she  woke 
only  when  Azya's  horse,  on  which  she  was  sitting,  neighed 
under  her. 

She  looked  around;  she  was  on  the  edge  of  a  forest, 
and  woke  in  time,  for  if  she  had  not  waked  she  might 
have  been  crushed  against  a  tree. 

Suddenly  she  saw  that  the  other  horse  was  not  near  her. 

"  What  has  happened  ?  "  cried  she,  in  great  alarm. 

But  a  very  simple  thing  had  happened.  Basia  had  tied, 
it  is  true,  the  reins  of  her  horse's  bridle  to  the  pommel  of 
the  saddle  on  which  she  was  sitting;  but  her  stiffened 
hands  served  her  badly,  and  she  was  not  able  to  knot  the 
straps  firmly ;  afterward  the  reins  fell  off,  and  the  wearied 
horse  stopped  to  seek  food  under  the  snow  or  lie  down. 

Fortunately  Basia  had  her  pistol  at  her  girdle,  and  not  in 
the  holsters ;  the  powder-horn  and  the  bag  with  the  rest  of 
the  seeds  were  also  with  her.  Finally  the  misfortune  was 
not  too  appalling ;  for  Azya's  horse,  though  he  yielded  to 
hers  in  speed,  surpassed  him  undoubtedly  in  endurance  of 
cold  and  labor.  Still,  Basia  was  grieved  for  her  favorite 
horse,  and  at  the  first  moment  determined  to  search  for  him. 

She  was  astonished,  however,  when  she  looked  around 
the  steppe  and  saw  nothing  of  the  beast,  though  the  night 
was  unusually  clear. 

"He  has  stopped  behind,"  thought  she,  —  "surely  not 
gone  ahead ;  but  he  must  have  lain  down  in  some  hollow, 
and  that  is  why  I  cannot  see  him." 

Azya's  horse  neighed  a  second  time,  shaking  himself  some- 
what and  putting  back  his  ears;  but  from  the  steppe  he 
was  answered  by  silence. 

"  I  will  go  and  find  him,"  said  Basia. 

And  she  turned,  when  a  sudden  alarm  seized  her,  and  a 
voice  precisely  as  if  human  called,  — 

"  Basia,  do  not  go  back !  " 

That  moment  the  silence  was  broken  by  other  and  ill- 
omened  voices  near,  and  coming,  as  it  were,  from  under  the 
earth,  howling,  coughing,  whining,  groaning,  and  finally  a 
ghastly  squeal,  short,  interrupted.  This  was  all  the  more 
terrible  since  there  was  nothing  to  be  seen  on  the  steppe. 
Cold  sweat  covered  Basia  from  head  to  foot ;  and  from  her 
blue  lips  was  wrested  the  cry,  — 


PAN   MICHAEL.  351 

"  What  is  that  ?     What  has  happened  ?  " 

She  divined  at  once,  it  is  true,  that  wolves  had  killed 
her  horse ;  but  she  could  not  understand  why  she  did  not 
see  him,  since,  judging  by  the  sounds,  he  was  not  more  than 
five  hundred  yards  behind. 

There  was  no  time  to  fly  to  the  rescue,  for  the  horse 
must  be  torn  to  pieces  already;  besides,  she  needed  to  think 
of  her  own  life.  Basia  fired  the  pistol  to  frighten  the 
wolves,  and  moved  forward.  While  going  she  pondered 
over  what  had  happened,  and  after  a  while  it  shot  through 
her  head  that  perhaps  it  was  not  wolves  that  had  taken 
her  horse,  since  those  voices  seemed  to  come  from  under 
the  ground.  At  this  thought  a  cold  shiver  went  along 
her  back ;  but  dwelling  on  the  matter  more  carefully,  she 
remembered  that  in  her  sleep  it  had  seemed  to  her  that  she 
was  going  down  and  then  going  up  again. 

"•  It  must  be  so,"  said  she ;  "  I  must  have  crossed  in  my 
sleep  some  ravine,  not  very  steep.  There  my  horse  remained ; 
and  there  the  wolves  found  him." 

The  rest  of  the  night  passed  without  accident.  Having 
eaten  hay  the  morning  before,  the  horse  went  with  great 
endurance,  so  that  Basia  herself  was  amazed  at  his  strength. 
That  was  a  Tartar  horse,  —  a  "  welf  hunter  "  of  great  stock, 
and  of  endurance  almost  without  limit.  During  the  short 
halts  which  Basia  made,  he  ate  everything  without  distinc- 
tion, —  moss,  leaves ;  he  gnawed  even  the  bark  of  trees,  and 
went  on  and  on.  Basia  urged  him  to  a  gallop  on  the  plains. 
Then  he  began  to  groan  somewhat,  and  to  breathe  loudly 
when  reined  in ;  he  panted,  trembled,  and  dropped  his  head 
low  from  weariness,  but  did  not  fall.  Her  horse,  even  had 
he  not  perished  under  the  teeth  of  the  wolves,  could  not 
have  endured  such  a  journey.  Next  morning  Basia,  after 
her  prayers,  began  to  calculate  the  time. 

"  I  broke  away  from  Azya  on  Tuesday  in  the  afternoon," 
said  she  to  herself,  "  I  galloped  till  night ;  then  one  night 
passed  on  the  road ;  after  that  a  whole  day ;  then  again-  a 
whole  night,  and  now  the  third  day  has  begun.  A  pursuit, 
even  had  there  been  one,  must  have  returned  already,  and 
Hreptyoff  ought  to  be  near,  for  I  have  not  spared  the 
horses." 

After  a  while  she  added,  "  It  is  time ;  it  is  time  !  God 
pity  me  ! " 

At  moments  a  desire  seized  her  to  approach  the  Dniester, 
for  at  the  bank  it  would  be  easier  to  learn  where  she  was ; 


352  PAN  MICHAEL. 

but  when  she  remembered  that  fifty  of  Azya's  men  had 
remained  with  Pan  Gorzenski  in  Mohiloff,  she  was  afraid. 
It  occurred  to  her  that  because  she  had  made  such  a  circuit 
she  might  not  have  passed  Mohiloff  yet.  On  the  road,  in 
so  far  as  sleep  had  not  closed  her  eyes,  she  tried,  it  is  true, 
to  note  carefully  whether  she  did  not  come  on  a  very  wide 
ravine,  like  that  in  which  Mohiloff  was  situated ;  but  she 
did  not  see  such  a  place.  However,  the  ravine  in  the  inte- 
rior might  be  narrow  and  altogether  different  from  what  it 
was  at  Mohiloff;  might  have  come  to  an  end  or  contracted 
at  some  furlongs  beyond  the  town ;  in  a  word,  Basia  had  not 
the  least  idea  of  where  Mohilof!  was. 

Only  she  implored  God  without  ceasing  that  it  might  be 
near,  for  she  felt  that  she  could  not  endure  toil,  hunger, 
sleeplessness,  and  cold  much  longer.  During  three  days 
she  had  lived  on  seeds  alone,  and  though  she  had  spared 
them  most  carefully,  still  she  had  eaten  the  last  kernel  that 
morning,  and  there  was  nothing  in  the  bag. 

Now  she  could  only  nourish  and  warm  herself  with  the 
hope  that  Hreptyoff  was  near.  In  addition  to  hope,  fever 
was  warming  her.  Basia  felt  perfectly  that  she  had  a  fever ; 
for  though  the  air  was  growing  colder,  and  it  was  even 
freezing,  her  hands  and  feet  were  as  hot  then  as  they  had 
been  cold  at  the  beginning  of  the  journey ;  thirst  too  tor- 
mented her  greatly. 

"  If  only  I  do  not  lose  my  presence  of  mind,"  said  she  to 
herself;  "if  I  reach  Hreptyoff,  even  with  my  last  breath, 
see  Michael,  and  then  let  the  will  of  God  be  done." 

Again  she  had  to  pass  numerous  streams  or  rivers,  but 
these  were  either  shallow  or  frozen;  on  some  water  was 
flowing,  and  there  was  ice  underneath,  firm  and  strong. 
But  she  dreaded  these  crossings  most  of  all  because  the 
horse,  though  courageous,  feared  them  evidently.  Going 
into  the  water  or  onto  the  ice  he  snorted,  put  forward  his 
ears,  sometimes  resisted,  but  when  urged  went  warily, 
putting  foot  before  foot  slowly,  and  sniffing  with  distended 
nostrils.  It  was  well  on  in  the  afternoon  when  Basia,  rid- 
ing through  a  thick  pine-wood,  halted  before  some  river 
larger  than  others,  and  above  all  much  wider.  According 
to  her  supposition  this  might  be  the  Ladava  or  the  Kalusik. 
At  sight  of  this  her  heart  'beat  with  gladness.  In  every 
case  Hreptyoff  must  be  near ;  had  she  passed  it  even,  she 
might  consider  herself  saved,  for  the  country  there  was 
more  inhabited  and  the  people  less  to  be  feared.  The 


PAN  MICHAEL.  353 

river,  as  far  as  her  eye  could  reach,  had  steep  banks ;  only 
in  one  place  was  there  a  depression,  and  the  water,  dammed 
by  ice,  had  gone  over  the  bank  as  if  poured  into  a  flat  and 
wide  vessel.  The  banks  were  frozen  thoroughly ;  in  the 
middle  a  broad  streak  of  water  was  flowing,  but  Basia 
hoped  to  find  the  usual  ice  under  it. 

The  horse  went  in,  resisting  somewhat,  as  at  every  cross- 
ing, with  head  inclined,  and  smelling  the  snow  before  him. 
When  she  came  to  running  water  Basia  knelt  on  the  saddle, 
according  to  her  custom,  and  held  the  saddle-bow  with 
both  hands.  The  water  plashed  under  his  hoofs.  The  ice 
was  really  firm ;  his  hoof  struck  it  as  stone.  But  evi- 
dently the  shoes  had  grown  blunt  on  the  long  road,  which 
was  rocky  in  places,  for  the  horse  began  to  slip ;  his  feet 
went  apart,  as  if  flying  from  under  him.  All  at  once  he  fell 
forward,  and  his  nostrils  sank  in  the  water ;  then  he  rose, 
fell  on  his  rump,  rose  again,  but  being  terrified,  began  to 
struggle  and  strike  desperately  with  his  feet.  Basia 
grasped  the  bridle,  and  with  that  a  dull  crack  was  heard ; 
both  hind  legs  of  the  horse  sank  through  the  ice  as  far  as 
the  haunches. 

"  Jesus,  Jesus  !  "  cried  Basia. 

The  beast,  with  fore  legs  still  on  firm  ice,  made  desperate 
efforts ;  but  evidently  the  pieces  on  which  he  was  resting 
began  to  move  from  under  his  feet,  for  he  fell  deeper,  and 
began  to  groan  hoarsely. 

Basia  had  still  time  sufficient  and  presence  of  mind  to 
seize  the  mane  of  the  horse  and  reach  the  unbroken  ice  in 
front  of  him.  She  fell  and  was  wet  in  the  water ;  but  rising 
and  feeling  firm  ground  under  foot,  she  knew  that  she  was 
saved.  She  wished  to  save  the  horse,  and  bending  forward 
caught  the  bridle ;  and  going  toward  the  bank  she  pulled  it 
with  all  her  might. 

But  the  horse  sank  deeper,  could  not  free  even  his  fore 
legs  to  grapple  the  ice,  which  was  still  unmoved.  The 
reins  were  pulled  harder  every  instant ;  but  he  sank  more 
and  more.  He  began  to  groan  with  a  voice  almost  human, 
baring  his  teeth  the  while;  his  eyes  looked  at  Basia 
with  indescribable  sadness,  as  if  wishing  to  say  to  her: 
"  There  is  no  rescue  for  me ;  drop  the  reins  ere  I  drag 
thee  in!" 

There  was,  in  truth,  no  rescue  for  him,  and  Basia  had  to 
drop  the  reins. 

When  the  horse  disappeared  beneath  the  ice  she  went  to 

23 


354  PAN  MICHAEL. 

the  bank,  sat  down  under  a  bush  without  leaves,  and  sobbed 
like  a  child. 

Her  energy  was  thoroughly  broken  for  the  moment.  And 
besides  that,  the  bitterness  and  pain  which,  after  meeting 
with  people,  had  filled  her  heart,  overflowed  it  now  with 
still  greater  force.  Everything  was  against  her,  —  uncertain 
roads,  darkness,  the  elements,  men,  beasts;  the  hand  of  God 
alone  had  seemed  to  watch  over  her.  In  that  kind,  fatherly 
care  she  had  put  all  her  childlike  trust ;  but  now  even  that 
hand  had  failed  her.  This  was  a  feeling  to  which  Basia 
had  not  given  such  clear  expression ;  but  if  she  had  not, 
she  felt  it  all  the  more  strongly  in  her  heart. 

What  remained  to  her  ?  Complaint  and  tears !  And 
still  she  had  shown  all  the  valor,  all  the  courage,  all  the 
endurance  which  such  a  poor,  weak  creature  could  show. 
Now,  see,  her  horse  is  drowned,  —  the  last  hope  of  rescue,  the 
last  plank  of  salvation,  the  only  thing  living  that  was  with 
her !  Without  that  horse  she  felt  powerless  against  the  un- 
known expanse  which  separated  her  from  Hreptyoff,  against 
the  pine-woods,  ravines,  and  steppes ;  not  only  defenceless 
against  the  pursuit  of  men  and  beasts,  but  she  felt  far  more 
lonely  and  deserted  than  before.  She  wept  till  tears  failed 
her.  Then  came  exhaustion,  weariness,  and  a  feeling  of 
helplessness  so  great  that  it  was  almost  eqiial  to  rest. 
Sighing  deeply  once  and  a  second  time,  she  said  to 
herself,  — 

"Against  the  will  of  God  I  am  powerless.  I  will  die 
where  I  am." 

And  she  closed  her  eyes,  aforetime  so  bright  and  joyous,  ' 
but  now  hollow  and  sunken. 

In  its  own  way,  though  her  body  was  becoming  more 
helpless  every  moment,  thought  was  still  throbbing  in  her 
head  like  a  frightened  bird,  and  her  heart  was  throbbing 
also.  If  no  one  in  the  world  loved  her,  she  would  have 
less  regret  to  die ;  but  all  loved  her  so  much. 

And  she  pictured  to  herself  what  would  happen  when 
Azya's  treason  and  his  flight  would  become  known:  how 
they  would  search  for  her  ;•  how  they  would  find  her  at 
last,  —  blue,  frozen,  sleeping  the  eternal  sleep  under  a 
bush  at  the  river.  And  all  at  once  she  called  out, — 

"  Oh,  but  poor  Michael  will  be  in  despair !     Ei,  ei ! " 

Then  she  implored  him,  saying  that  it  was  not  her  fault. 

"Michael,"  said  she,  putting  her  arms  around  his  neck, 
mentally,  "I  did  all  in  my  power;  but,  my  dear,  it  was 
difficult.  The  Lord  God  did  not  will  it." 


PAN   MICHAEL.  355 

And  that  moment  such  a  heartfelt  love  for  Michael  pos- 
sessed her,  such  a  wish  even  to  die  near  that  dear  head, 
that,  summoning  every  force  she  had,  she  rose  from  the 
bank  and  walked  on. 

At  first  it  was  immensely  difficult.  Her  feet  had  become 
unaccustomed  to  walking  during  the  long  ride ;  she  felt  as 
if  she  were  going  on  stilts.  Happily  she  was  not  cold ;  she 
was  even  warm  enough,  for  the  fever  had  not  left  her  for  a 
moment. 

Sinking  in  the  forest,  she  went  forward  persistently, 
remembering  to  keep  the  sun  on  her  left  hand.  It  had 
gone,  in  fact,  to  the  Moldavian  side;  for  it  was  the  second 
half  of  the  day,  —  perhaps  four  o'clock.  Basia  cared  less 
now  for  approaching  the  Dniester,  for  it  seemed  to  her 
always  that  she  was  beyond  Mohiloff. 

"  If  only  I  were  sure  of  that ;  if  I  knew  it ! "  repeated 
she,  raising  her  blue,  and  at  the  same  time  inflamed,  face 
to  the  sky.  "  If  some  beast  or  some  tree  would  speak  and 
say,  'It  is  a  mile  to  Hreptyoff,  two  miles,'  —  I  might  go 
there  perhaps." 

But  the  trees  were  silent ;  nay  more,  they  seemed  to  her 
unfriendly,  and  obstructed  the  road  with  their  roots.  Basia 
stumbled  frequently  against  the  knots  and  curls  of  those 
roots  covered  with  snow.  After  a  time  she  was  -burdened 
unendurably ;  she  threw  the  warm  mantle  from  her  shoul- 
ders and  remained  in  her  single  coat.  Believing  herself  in 
this  way,  she  walked  and  walked  still  more  hurriedly,  — 
now  stumbling,  now  falling  at  times  in  deeper  snow.  Her 
fur-lined  morocco  boots  without  soles,  excellent  for  riding 
in  a  sleigh  or  on  horseback,  did  not  protect  her  feet  well 
against  clumps  or  stones ;  besides,  soaked  through  repeatedly 
at  crossings,  and  kept  damp  by  the  warmth  of  her  feet  now 
inflamed  from  fever,  these  boots  were  torn  easily  in  the 
forest. 

"  I  will  go  barefoot  to  Hreptyoff  or  to  death ! "  thought 
Basia. 

And  a  sad  smile  lighted  her  face,  for  she  found  comfort 
in  this,  that  she  went  so  enduringly  ;  and  that  if  she  should 
be  frozen  on  the  road,  Michael  would  have  nothing  to  cast 
at  her  memory. 

Therefore  she  talked  now  continually  with  her  husband, 
and  said  once,  — 

"Ai,  Michael  dear  !  another  would  not  have  done  so  much; 
for  example,  Eva." 


356  PAN  MICHAEL. 

Of  Eva  she  had  thought  more  than  once  in  that  time  of 
flight;  more  than  once  had  she  prayed  for  Eva.  It  was 
clear  to  her  now,  seeing  that  Azya  did  not  love  the  girl, 
that  her  fate,  and  the  fate  of  all  the  other  prisoners  left  in 
Rashkoff,  would  be  dreadful. 

"  It  is  worse  for  them  than  for  me,"  repeated  she,  from 
moment  to  moment,  and  that  thought  gave  fresh  strength 
to  her. 

But  when  one,  two,  and  three  hours  had  passed,  this 
strength  decreased  at  every  step.  Gradually  the  sun  sank 
behind  the  Dniester,  and  flooding  the  sky  with  a  ruddy  twi- 
light, was  quenched ;  the  snow  took  on  a  violet  reflection. 
Then  that  gold  and  purple  abyss  of  twilight  began  to  grow 
dark,  and  became  narrower  every  moment ;  from  a  sea 
covering  half  the  heavens  it  was  changed  to  a  lake,  from 
a  lake  to  a  river,  from  a  river  to  a  stream,  and  finally 
gleaming  as  a  thread  of  light  stretched  on  the  west,  yielded 
to  darkness. 

Night  came. 

An  hour  passed.  The  pine-wood  became  black  and  mys- 
terious ;  but,  unmoved  by  any  breath,  it  was  as  silent  as  if 
it  had  collected  itself,  and  were  meditating  what  to  do  with 
that  poor,  wandering  creature.  But  there  was  nothing  good 
in  that  torpor  and  silence ;  nay,  there  was  insensibility  and 
callousness. 

Basia  went  on  continually,  catching  the  air  more  quickly 
with  her  parched  lips ;  she  fell,  too,  more  frequently,  be- 
cause of  darkness  and  her  lack  of  strength. 

She  had  her  head  turned  upward ;  but  not  to  look  for  the 
directing  Great  Bear,  for  she  had  lost  altogether  the  sense 
of  position.  She  went  so  as  to  go;  she  went  because 
very  clear  and  sweet  visions  before  death  had  begun  to 
fly  over  her. 

For  example,  the  four  sides  of  the  wood  begin  to  run 
together  quickly,  to  join  and  form  a  room. — the  room  at 
Hreptyoff.  Basia  is  in  it ;  she  sees  everything  clearly.  In 
the  chimney  a  great  fire  is  burning,  and  on  the  benches 
officers  are  sitting  as  usual :  Pan  Zagloba  is  chaffing  Pan 
Snitko;  Pan  Motovidlo  is  sitting  in  silence  looking  into 
the  flames,  and  when  something  hisses  in  the  fire  he  says, 
in  his  drawling  voice,  "  Oh,  soul  in  purgatory,  what  needst 
thou  ? "  Pan  Mushalski  and  Pan  Hromyka  are  playing 
dice  with  Michael.  Basia  conies  up  to  them  and  says : 
"  Michael,  I  will  sit  on  the  bench  and  nestle  up  to  you  a 


TAN   MICHAEL.  357 

little,  for  I  am  not  myself."  Michael  puts  his  arm  around 
her.  "What  is  the  matter,  kitten?  But  maybe  — "  And 
he  inclines  to  her  ear  and  whispers  something.  But  she 
answers,  "  Ai,  how  I  am  not  myself !  "  What  a  bright  and 
peaceful  room  that  is,  and  how  beloved  is  that  Michael ! 
But  somehow  Basia  is  not  herself,  so  that  she  is  alarmed. 

Basia  is  not  herself  to  such  a  degree  that  the  fever  has 
left  her  suddenly,  for  the  weakness  before  death  has  over- 
come it.  The  visions  disappear  j  presence  of  mind  returns, 
and  with  it  memory. 

"I  am  fleeing  before  Azya,"  said  Basia  to  herself;  "I 
am  in  the  forest  at  night.  I  cannot  go  to  Hreptyoff.  I  am 
dying." 

After  the  fever,  cold  seizes  her  quickly,  and  goes  through 
her  body  to  the  bones.  The  legs  bend  under  her,  and  she 
kneels  at  last  on  the  snow  before  a  tree. 

Not  the  least  cloud  darkens  her  mind  now.  She  is  terribly 
sorry  to  lose  life,  but  she  knows  perfectly  that  she  is  dying ; 
and  wishing  to  commend  her  soul  to  God,  she  begins  to  say, 
in  a  broken  voice,  — 

"  In  the  name  of  the  Father  and  the  Son  —  " 

Suddenly  certain  strange,  sharp,  shrill,  squeaking  voices 
interrupt  further  prayer ;  they  are  disagreeable  and  piercing 
in  the  stillness  of  the  night. 

Basia  opens  her  mouth.  The  question,  "What  is  that  ?  " 
is  dying  on  her  lips.  For  a  moment  she  places  her  trem- 
bling fingers  to  her  face,  as  if  not  wishing  to  lend  belief, 
and  from  her  mouth  a  sudden  cry  is  wrested,  — 

"  0  Jesus,  0  Jesus  !  Those  are  the  well-sweeps j  that  is 
Hreptyoff!  O  Jesus!" 

Then  that  being  who  was  dying  a  little  before  springs 
up,  and  panting,  trembling,  with  eyes  full  of  tears,  and  with 
swelling  bosom  runs  through  the  forest,  falls,  rises  again, 
repeating,  — 

"They  are  watering  the  horses!  That  is  Hreptyoff! 
Those  are  our  well-sweeps  !  Even  to  the  gate,  even  to  the 
gate  !  0  Jesus !  Hreptyoff  —  Hreptyoff ! " 

But  here  the  forest  grows  thin,  the  snow-fields  open,  and 
with  them  the  slope,  from  which  a  number  of  glittering  eyes 
are  looking  on  the  running  Basia. 

But  those  were  not  wolves'  eyes,  —  ah,  those  were  Hrep- 
tyoff windows  looking  with  sweet,  bright,  and  saving  light ! 
That  is  the  "  fortalice "  there  on  the  eminence,  just  that 
eastern  side  turned  to  the  forest ! 


358  PAN  MICHAEL. 

There  was  still  a  distance  to  go,  but  Basia  did  not  know 
when  she  passed  it.  The  soldiers  standing  at  the  gate  on 
the  village  side  did  not  know  her  in  the  darkness ;  but 
they  admitted  her,  thinking  her  a  boy  sent  on  some  message, 
and  returning  to  the  commandant.  She  rushed  in  with  her 
last  breath,  ran  across  the  square  near  the  wells  where  the 
dragoons,  returning  just  before  from  a  reconnoissance,  had 
watered  their  horses  for  the  night,  and  stood  at  the  door  of 
the  main  building.  The  little  knight  and  Zagloba  were 
sitting  just  then  astride  a  bench  before  the  fire,  and  drink- 
ing krupnik.1  They  were  talking  of  Basia,  thinking  that 
she  was  down  there  somewhere,  managing  in  Rashkoff. 
Both  were  sad,  for  it  was  terribly  dreary  without  her,  and 
every  day  they  were  discussing  about,  her  return. 

"God  ward  off  sudden  thaws  and  rains.  Should  they 
come,  He  alone  knows  when  she  would  return,"  said  Zagloba, 
gloomily. 

"  The  winter  will  hold  out  yet,"  said  the  little  knight ; 
"and  in  eight  or  ten  days  I  shall  be  looking  toward 
Mohiloff  for  her  every  hour." 

"I  wish  she  had  not  gone.  There  is  nothing  for  me  here 
without  her  in  Hreptyoff." 

"  But  why  did  you  advise  the  journey  ?  " 

"  Don't  invent,  Michael !  That  took  place  with  your 
head." 

"  If  only  she  comes  back  in  health." 

Here  the  little  knight  sighed,  and  added,  — 

"  In  health,  and  as  soon  as  possible." 

With  that  the  door  squeaked,  and  a  small,  pitiful,  torn 
creature,  covered  with  snow,  began  to  pipe  plaintively  at 
the  threshold :  — 

"  Michael,  Michael ! " 

The  little  knight  sprang  up,  but  he  was  so  astonished  at 
the  first  moment  that  he  stopped  where  he  stood,  as  if 
turned  to  stone ;  he  opened  his  arms,  began  to  blink,  and 
stood  still. 

"  Michael !  —  Azya  betrayed  —  he  wanted  to  carry  me 
away ;  but  I  fled,  and  —  save  —  rescue  ! " 

When  she  had  said  this,  she  tottered  and  fell  as  if 
dead,  on  the  floor ;  Pan  Michael  sprang  forward,  raised 
her  in  his  arms  as  if  she  had  been  a  feather,  and  cried 
shrilly,  — 

1  A  hot  drink  made  of  gorailka,  honey,  and  ppices. 


PAN   MICHAEL.  359 

"  Merciful  Christ !  " 

But  her  poor  head  hung  without  life  on  his  shoulder. 
Thinking  that  he  held  only  a  corpse  in  his  arms,  he  began 
to  cry  with  a  ghastly  voice,  —  . 

"  Basia  is  dead  !  —  dead !     Kescue  ! " 


360  PAN  MICHAEL. 


CHAPTER  XLII. 

of  Basia's  arrival  flew  like  a  thunderbolt  through 
Hreptyoff ;  but  no  one  except  the  little  knight,  Pan  Zagloba, 
and  the  serving-women  saw  her  that  evening,  or  the  follow- 
ing evenings.  After  that  swoon  on  the  threshold  she  re- 
covered presence  of  mind  sufficiently  to  tell  in  a-few  words 
at  least  what  had  happened,  and  how  it  had  happened ; 
but  suddenly  a  new  fit  of  fainting  set  in,  and  an  hour  later, 
though  they  used  all  means  to  revive  her,  though  they 
warmed  her,  gave  her  wine,  tried  to  give  her  food,  she  did 
not  know  even  her  husband,  and  there  was  no  doubt  that 
for  her  a  long  and  grievous  illness  was  beginning. 

Meanwhile  excitement  rose  in  all  Hreptyoff.  The  sol- 
diers, learning  that  "the  lady"  had  come  home  half  alive, 
rushed  out  to  the  square  like  a  swarm  of  bees ;  all  the  offi- 
cers assembled,  and  whispering  in  low  voices  were  waiting 
impatiently  for  news  from  the  bedroom  where  Basia  was 
lying.  For  a  long  time,  however,  it  was  impossible  to  learn 
anything.  It  is  true  that  at  times  waiting-women  hurried 
past,  one  to  the  kitchen  for  hot  water,  another  to  the  dis- 
pensary for  plasters,  ointments,  and  herbs  ;  but  they  let  no 
one  detain  them.  Uncertainty  was  weighing  like  lead  on 
all  hearts.  Increasing  crowds,  even  from  the  village,  col- 
lected on  the  square ;  inquiries  passed  from  mouth  to 
mouth ;  men  described  Azya's  treason,  and  said  that  "  the 
lady "  had  saved  herself  by  flight,  had  fled  a  whole  week 
without  food  or  sleep.  At  these  tidings  the  breasts  of  all 
swelled  with  rage.  At  last  a  wonderful  and  terrible  frenzy 
seized  the  assembly  of  soldiers ;  but  they  repressed  it 
through  fear  of  injuring  the  sick  woman  by  an  outburst. 

At  last,  after  long  waiting,  Pan  Zagloba  went  out  to  the 
officers,  his  eyes  red,  and  the  remnant  of  the  hair  on  his 
head  standing  up;  they  sprang  to  him  in  a  crowd,  and 
covered  him  at  once  with  anxious  questions  in  low 
tones. 

"  Is  she  alive ;   is  she  alive  ?  " 

"  She  is  alive,"  said  the  old  man ;  "  but  God  knows 
whether  she  will  live  an  hour." 


PAN  MICHAEL.  361 

Here  the  voice  stuck  in  his  throat ;  his  lower  }ip  quivered. 
Seizing  his  head  with  both  hands,  he  dropped  heavily  on 
the  bench,  and  suppressed  sobbing  heaved  his  breast. 

At  sight  of  this,  Pan  Mushalski  caught  in  his  embrace 
Pan  Nyenashinyets,  though  he  cared  not  much  for  him 
ordinarily,  and  began  to  moan  quietly ;  Pan  Nyenashinyets 
seconded  him  at  once.  Pan  Motovidlo  stared  as  if  he  were 
trying  to  swallow  something,  but  could  not ;  Pan  Snitko  fell 
to  unbuttoning  his  coat  with  quivering  fingers ;  Pan  Hromyka 
raised  his  hands,  and  walked  through  the  room.  The  sol- 
diers, seeing  through  the  windows  these  signs  of  despair, 
and  judging  that  the  lady  had  died  already,  began  an  outcry 
and  lamentation.  Hearing  this,  Zagloba  fell  into  a  sudden 
fury,  and  shot  out  like  a  stone  from  a  sling  to  the  square. 

"  Silence,  you  scoundrels  !  may  the  thunderbolts  split 
you  ! "  cried  he,  in  a  suppressed  voice. 

They  were  silent  at  once,  understanding  that  the  time  for 
lamentation  had  not  come  yet ;  but  they  did  not  leave  the 
square.  Zagloba  returned  to  the  room,  quieted  somewhat, 
and  sat  again  on  the  bench. 

At  that  moment  a  waiting-woman  appeared  again  at  the 
door  of  the  room. 

Zagloba  sprang  toward  her. 

"  How  is  it  there  ?  " 

"  She  is  sleeping." 

"  Is  she  sleeping  ?    Praise  be  to  God  ! " 

"  Maybe  the  Lord  will  grant  —  " 

"  What  is  the  Pan  Commandant  doing  ?  " 

"  The  Pan  Commandant  is  at  her  bedside." 

"  That  is  well.     Go  now  for  what  you  were  sent." 

Zagloba  turned  to  the  officers  and  said,  repeating  the 
words  of  the  woman,  — 

"May  the  Most  High  God  have  mercy  !  She  is  sleeping ! 
Some  hope  is  entering  me  —  Uf  !  " 

And  they  sighed  deeply  in  like  manner.  Then  they 
gathered  around  Zagloba  in  a  close  circle  and  began  to 
inquire,  — 

"  For  God's  sake,  how  did  it  happen  ?  What  happened  ? 
How  did  she  escape  on  foot  ?  " 

"  At  first  she  did  not  escape  on  foot,"  whispered  Zagloba, 
"  but  with  two  horses,  for  she  threw  that  dog  from  his 
saddle,  —  may  the  plague  slay  him ! " 

"  I  cannot  believe  my  ears !  " 

"  She  struck  him  with  the  butt  of  a  pistol  between  the  eyes ; 


362  PAN  MICHAEL. 

and  as  they  were  some  distance  behind  no  one  saw  them, 
and  no  one  pursued.  The  wolves  ate  one  horse,  and  the 
other  was  drowned  under  the  ice.  0  Merciful  Christ !  She 
went,  the  poor  thing,  alone  through  forests,  without  eating, 
without  drinking." 

Here  Pan  Zagloba  burst  out  crying  again,  and  stopped  his 
narrative  for  a  time ;  the  officers  too  sat  down  on  benches, 
filled  with  wonder  and  horror  and  pity  for  the  woman  who 
was  loved  by  all. 

"  When  she  came  near  Hreptyoff,"  continued  Zagloba, 
after  a  while,  "  she  did  not  know  the  place,  and  was  prepar- 
ing to  die;  just  then  she  heard  the  squeak  of  the  well- 
sweeps,  knew  that  she  was  near  us,  and  dragged  herself 
home  with  her  last  breath." 

"  God  guarded  her  in  such  straits,"  said  Pan  Motovidlo, 
wiping  his  moist  mustaches.  "  He  will  guard  her  further." 

"  It  will  be  so  !  You  have  touched  the  point,"  whispered 
a  number  of  voices. 

With  that  a  louder  noise  came  in  from  the  square ; 
Zagloba  sprang  up  again  in  a  rage,  and  rushed  out  through 
the  doorway. 

Head  was  thrust  up  to  head  on  the  square ;  but  at  sight  of 
Zagloba  and  two  other  officers  the  soldiers  pushed  back 
into  a  half-circle. 

" Be  quiet,  you  dog  souls !  "  began  Zagloba,  "or  I '11 
command  — 

But  out  of  the  half-circle  stepped  Zydor  Lusnia,  —  a 
sergeant  of  dragoons,  a  real  Mazovian,  and  one  of  Pan 
Michael's  favorite  soldiers.  This  man  advanced  a  couple  of 
steps,  straightened  himself  out  like  a  string,  and  said  with 
a  voice  of  decision,  — 

"  Your  grace,  since  such  a  son  has  injured  our  lady,  as  I 
live,  we  cannot  but  move  on  him  and  take  vengeance ;  all 
beg  to  do  this.  And  if  the  colonel  cannot  go,  we  will  go 
under  another  command,  even  to  the  Crimea  itself,  to  capture 
that  man;  and  remembering  our  lady,  we  will  not  spare 
him." 

A  stubborn,  cold,  peasant  threat  sounded  in  the  voice  of 
the  sergeant ;  other  dragoons  and  attendants  in  the  accom- 
panying squadrons  began  to  grit  their  teeth,  shake  their 
sabres,  puff,  and  murmur.  This  deep  grumbling,  like  the 
grumbling  of  a  bear  in  the  night,  had  in  it  something 
simply  terrible. 

The  sergeant  stood  erect  waiting  for  an  answer ;  behind 


PAN  MICIIAKL.  363 

him  whole  ranks  were  waiting,  and  in  them  was  evident 
such  obstinacy  and  rage  that  in  presence  of  it  even  the 
ordinary  obedience  of  soldiers  disappeared. 

Silence  continued  for  a  while ;.  all  at  once  some  voice  in 
a  remoter  line  called  out,  — 

"  The  blood  of  that  one  is  the  best  medicine  for  '  the 
lady.' " 

Zagloba's  anger  fell  away,  for  that  attachment  of  the 
soldiers  to  Basia  touched  him ;  and  at  that  mention  of 
medicine  another  plan  flashed  up  in  his  head,  —  namely,  to 
bring  a  doctor  to  Basia.  At  the  first  moment  in  that  wild 
Hreptyoff  no  one  had  thought  of  a  doctor ;  but  nevertheless 
there  were  many  of  them  in  Kamenyets, —  among  others 
a  certain  Greek,  a  famous  man,  wealthy,  the  owner  of  a 
number  of  stone  houses,  and  so  learned  that  he  passed 
everywhere  as  almost  skilled  in  the  black  art.  But  there 
was  a  doubt  whether  he,  being  wealthy,  would  be  willing  to 
come  at  any  price  to  such  a  desert,  —  he  to  whom  even 
magnates  spoke  with  respect. 

Zagloba  meditated  for  a  short  time,  and  then  said,  — 

"A  fitting  vengeance  will  not  miss  that  arch  hound,  I 
promise  you  that;  and  he  would  surely  prefer  to  have  his 
grace,  the  king,  swear  vengeance  against  him  than  to  have 
Zagloba  do  it.  But  it  is  not  known  whether  he  is  alive  yet ; 
for  the  lady,  in  tearing  herself  out  of  his  hands,  struck  him 
with  the  butt  of  her  pistol  right  in  the  brain.  But  this  is 
not  the  time  to  think  of  him,  for  first  we  must  save  the 
lady." 

"  We  should  be  glad  to  do  it,  even  with  our  own  lives," 
answered  Lusnia. 

And  the  crowd  muttered  again  in  support  of  the  sergeant. 

"Listen  to  me,"  said  Zagloba.  "In  Kamenyets  lives  a 
doctor  named  Rodopul.  You  will  go  to  him  ;  you  will  tell 
him  that  the  starosta  of  Podolia  has  sprained  his  leg  at  this 
place  and  is  waiting  for  rescue.  And  if  he  is  outside  the 
wall,  seize  him,  put  him  on  a  horse,  or  into  a  bag,  and  bring 
him  to  Hreptyoff  without  stopping.  I  will  give  command 
to  have  horses  disposed  at  short  distances  apart,  and  you 
will  go  at  a  gallop.  Only  be  careful  to  bring  him  alive,  for 
we  have  no  business  with  dead  doctors." 

A  mutter  of  satisfaction  was  heard  on  every  side ;  Lusnia 
moved  his  stern  mustaches  and  said,  — 

"  I  will  bring  him  surely,  and  I  will  not  lose  him  till  we 
come  to  Hreptyoff." 


364  PAN  MICHAEL. 

"  Move  on  !  " 

"  I  pray  your  grace  —  " 

«  What  more  ?  " 

"  But  if  he  should  die  of  fright  ?  " 

"He  will  not.     Take  six  men  and  move." 

Lusnia  shot  away.  The  others  were  glad  to  do  something 
for  the  lady ;  they  ran  to  saddle  the  horses,  and  in  a  few 
"  Our  Fathers  "  six  men  were  racing  to  Kamenyets.  After 
them  others  took  additional  horses,  to  be  disposed  along  the 
road. 

Zagloba,  satisfied  with  himself,  returned  to  the  house. 

After  a  while  Pan  Michael  came  out  of  the  bedroom, 
changed,  half  conscious,  indifferent  to  words  of  sympathy 
and  consolation.  When  he  had  informed  Zagloba  that 
Basia  was  sleeping  continually,  he  dropped  on  the  bench, 
and  gazed  with  wandering  look  on  the  door  beyond  which 
she  was  lying.  It  seemed  to  the  officers  that  he  was  listen- 
ing ;  therefore  all  restrained  their  breathing,  and  a  perfect 
stillness  settled  down  in  the  room. 

After  a  certain  time  Zagloba  went  on  tiptoe  to  the  little 
knight. 

"  Michael,"  said  he,  "  I  have  sent  to  Kamenyets  for  a 
doctor ;  but  maybe  it  is  well  to  send  for  some  one  else  ?  " 

Volodyovski  was  collecting  his  thoughts,  and  apparently 
did  not  understand. 

"  For  a  priest,"  said  Zagloba.  "  Father  Kaminski  might 
come  by  morning." 

The  little  knight  closed  his  eyes,  turned  toward  the  fire, 
his  face  as  pale  as  a  kerchief,  and  said  in  a  hurried  voice,  — 

"  Jesus,  Jesus,  Jesus  ! " 

Zagloba  inquired  no  further,  but  went  out  and  made 
arrangements.  When  he  returned,  Pan  Michael  was  no 
longer  in  the  room.  The  officers  told  Zagloba  that  the  sick 
woman  had  called  her  husband,  it  was  unknown  whether  hi 
a  fever  or  in  her  senses. 

The  old  noble  convinced  himself  soon,  by  inspection,  that 
it  was  in  a  fever. 

Basia's  cheeks  were  bright  red  ;  her  eyes,  though  glitter- 
ing, were  dull,  as  if  the  pupils  had  mingled  with  the  white  ; 
her  pale  hands  were  searching  for  something  before  her, 
with  a  monotonous  motion,  on  the  coverlet.  Pan  Michael 
was  lying  half  alive  at  her  feet. 

From  time  to  time  the  sick  woman  muttered  something 
in  a  low  voice,  or  uttered  uncertain  phrases  more  loudly ; 


PAN  MICHAEL.  365 

among  them  "  Hrepty off  "  was  repeated  most  frequently: 
.evidently  it  seemed  to  her  at  times  that  she  was  still  on  the 
road.  That  movement  of  her  hands  on  the  coverlet  dis- 
turbed Zagloba  especially,  for  in  its  unconscious  monotony 
he  saw  signs  of  coming  death.  He  was  a  man  of  experience, 
and  many  people  had  died  in  his  presence ;  but  never  had 
his  heart  been  cut  with  such  sorrow  as  at  sight  of  that 
flower  withering  so  early. 

Understanding  that  God  alone  could  save  that  quenching 
life,  he  knelt  at  the  bed  and  began  to  pray,  and  to  pray 
earnestly. 

Meanwhile  Basia's  breath  grew  heavier,  and  changed  by 
degrees  to  a  rattling.  Volodyovski  sprang  up  from  her  feet ; 
Zagloba  rose  from  his  knees.  Neither  said  a  word  to  the 
other;  they  merely  looked  into  each  other's  eyes,  and  in  that 
look  there  was  terror.  It  seemed  to  them  that  she  was 
dying,  but  it  seemed  so  only  for  some  moments  ;  soon  her 
breathing  was  easier  and  even  slower. 

Thenceforth  they  were  between  fear  and  hope.  The  night 
dragged  on  slowly.  Neither  did  the  officers  go  to  rest ; 
they  sat  in  the  room,  now  looking  at  the  door  of  the  bed- 
room, now  whispering  among  themselves,  now  dozing.  At 
intervals  a  boy  came  in  to  throw  wood  on  the  fire ;  and  at 
each  movement  of  the  latch  they  sprang  from  the  bench, 
thinking  that  Volodyovski  or  Zagloba  was  coming,  and  they 
would  hear  the  terrible  words,  "  She  is  living  no  longer! " 

At  last  the  cocks  crowed,  and  she  was  still  struggling 
with  the  fever.  Toward  morning  a  fierce  rain-storm  burst 
forth ;  it  roared  among  the  beams,  howled  on  the  roof ;  at 
times  the  flames  quivered  in  the  chimney,  casting  into  the 
room  puffs  of  smoke  and  sparks.  About  daylight  Pan 
Motovidlo  stepped  out  quietly,  for  he  had  to  go  on  a  recon- 
noissance.  At  last  day  came  pale  and  cloudy,  and  lighted 
weary  faces. 

On  the  square  the  usual  movement  began.  In  the  whistling 
of  the  storm  were  heard  the  tramp  of  horses  on  the  planking 
of  the  stable,  the  squeak  of  the  well-sweeps,  and  the  voices  of 
soldiers ;  but  soon  a  bell  sounded,  —  Father  Kaminski  had 
come. 

When  he  entered,  wearing  his  white  surplice,  the  officers 
fell  on  their  knees.  It  seemed  to  all  that  the  solemn  mo- 
ment had  come,  after  which  death  must  follow  undoubtedly. 
The  sick  woman  had  not  regained  consciousness ;  therefore 
the  priest  could  not  hear  her  confession.  He  only  gave 


366  PAN  MICHAEL. 

her  extreme  unction ;  then  he  began  to  console  the  little 
knight,  and  to  persuade  him  to  yield  to  the  will  of  God. 
But  there  was  no  effect  in  that  consolation,  for  no  words 
could  reach  his  pain. 

For  a  whole  day  death  hovered  over  Basia.  Like  a  spider, 
which  secreted  in  some  gloomy  corner  of  the  ceiling  crawls 
out  at  times  to  the  light,  and  lets  itself  down  on  an  unseen 
web,  death  seemed  at  times  to  come  down  right  there  over 
Basia's  head ;  and  more  than  once  it  seemed  to  those  present 
that  his  shadow  was  falling  on  her  forehead,  that  that  bright 
soul  was  just  opening  its  wings  to  fly  away  out  of  Hreptyoff, 
somewhere  into  endless  space,  to  the  other  side  of  life. 
Then  again  death,  like  a  spider,  hid  away  under  the  ceil- 
ing, and  hope  filled  their  hearts. 

But  that  was  merely  a  partial  and  temporary  hope,  for 
no  one  dared  to  think  that  Basia  would  survive  the  attack. 
Pan  Michael  himself  had  no  hope  of  her  recovery ;  and  this 
pain  of  his  became  so  great  that  Zagloba,  though  suffering 
severely  himself,  began  to  be  afraid,  and  to  commend  him 
to  the  care  of  the  officers. 

"  For  God's  sake,  look  after  him !  "  said  the  old  man  ;  "  he 
may  plunge  a  knife  into  his  body." 

This  did  not  come,  indeed,  to  Pan  Michael's  head ; 
but  in  that  rending  sorrow  and  pain  he  asked  himself 
continually,  — 

"  How  am  I  to  stay  behind  when  she  goes  ?  How  can  I 
let  that  dearest  love  go  alone  ?  What  will  she  say  when  she 
looks  around  and  does  not  find  me  near  her  ?  " 

Thinking  thus,  he  wished  with  all  the  powers  of  his  soul 
to  die  with  her ;  for  as  he  could  not  imagine  life  for  him- 
self on  earth  without  her,  in  like  manner  he  did  not  under- 
stand that  she  could  be  happy  in  that  life  without  him,  and 
not  yearn  for  him.  In  the  afternoon  the  ill-omened  spider 
hid  again  in  the  ceiling.  The  flush  in  Basia's  cheeks  was 
quenched,  and  the  fever  decreased  to  a  degree  that  some 
consciousness  came  back  to  her. 

She  lay  for  a  time  with  closed  eyes,  then,  opening  thfem, 
looked  into  the  face  of  the  little  knight,  and  asked,  — 

"  Michael,  am  I  in  Hreptyoff  ?  " 

"  Yes,  my  love,"  answered  Volodyovski,  closing  his  teeth. . 

"  And  are  you  really  near  me  ?  " 

"  Yes  ;  how  do  you  feel  ?  " 

"  Ai,  well." 

It  was  clear  that  she  herself  was  not  certain  that  the 


PAN   MICHAEL.  367 

fever  had  not  brought  before  her  eyes  deceptive  visions ; 
but  from  that  moment  she  regained  consciousness  more 
and  more. 

In  the  evening  Lusnia  and  his  men  came  and  shook  out  of 
a  bag  before  the  fort  the  doctor  of  Kamenyets,  together  with 
his  medicines  ;  he  was  barely  alive.  But  when  he  learned 
that  he  was  not  in  robber  hands,  as  he  thought,  but  was 
brought  in  that  fashion  to  a  patient,  after  a  passing  faintness 
he  went  to  the  rescue  at  once,  especially  as  Zagloba  held  be- 
fore him  in  one  hand  a  purse  filled  with  coin,  in  the  other  a 
loaded  pistol,  and  said,  — 

"Here  is  the  fee  for  life,  and  there  is  the  fee  for  death." 

That  same  night,  about  daybreak,  the  spider  of  ill-omen 
hid  away  somewhere  for  good;  thereupon  the  decision  of 
the  doctor,  "  She  will  be  sick  a  long  time,  but  she  will 
recover,"  sounded  with  joyful  echo  through  Hreptyoff. 
When  Pan  Michael  heard  it  first,  he  fell  on  the  floor  and 
broke  into  such  violent  sobbing-  that  it  seemed  as  though 
his  bosom  would  burst.  Zagloba  grew  weak  altogether 
from  joy,  so  that  his  face  was  covered  with  sweat,  and  he 
was  barely  able  to  exclaim,  "  A  drink !  "  The  officers 
embraced  one  another. 

On  the  square  the  dragoons  assembled  again,  with  the 
escort  and  the  Cossacks  of  Pan  Motovidlo ;  it  was  hardly 
possible  to  restrain  them  from  shouting.  They  wanted 
absolutely  to  show  their  delight  in  some  fashion,  and  they 
began  to  beg  for  a  number  of  robbers  imprisoned  in  the 
cellars  of  Hreptyoff,  so  as  to  hang  them  for  the  benefit  of 
the  lady. 

But  the  little  knight  refused. 


368  PAN  MICHA.EL. 


CHAPTER    XLIII. 

BASIA  suffered  so  violently  for  a  week  yet,  that  had  it  not 
been  for  the  assurance  of  the  doctor  both  Pan  Michael  and 
Zagloba  would  have  admitted  that  the  flame  of  her  life 
might  expire  at  any  moment.  Only  at  the  end  of  that  time 
did  she  become  notably  better ;  her  consciousness  returned 
fully,  and  though  the  doctor  foresaw  that  she  would  lie  in 
bed  a  month,  or  a  month  and  a  half,  still  it  was  certain  that 
she  would  return  to  perfect  health,  and  gain  her  former 
strength. 

Pan  Michael  during  her  illness  went  hardly  one  step  from 
her  pillow;  he  loved  her  after  these  perils  still  more,  if 
possible,  and  did  not  see  the  world  beyond  her.  At  times 
when  he  sat  near  her,  when  he  looked  on  that  face,  still  thin 
and  emaciated  but  joyous,  and  those  eyes,  into  which  the 
old  fire  was  returning  each  day,  he  was  beset  by  the  wish 
to  laugh,  to  cry,  and  to  shout  from  delight  •.  — 

"  My  only  Basia  is  recovering ;  she  is  recovering  !  " 

And  he  rushed  at  her  hands,  and  sometimes  he  kissed 
those  poor  little  feet  which  had  waded  so  valiantly  through 
the  deep  snows  to  Hreptyoff ;  in  a  word,  he  loved  her 
and  honored  her  beyond  estimation.  He  felt  wonderfully 
indebted  to  Providence,  and  on  a  certain  time  he  said  in 
presence  of  Zagloba  and  the  officers  :  — 

"  I  am  a  poor  man,  but  even  were  I  to  work  off  my  arms 
to  the  elbows,  I  will  find  money  for  a  little  church,  even  a 
wooden  one.  And  as  often  as  they  ring  the  bells  in  it,  I  will 
remember  the  mercy  of  God,  and  the  soul  will  be  melting 
within  me  from  gratitude." 

"  God  grant  us  first  to  pass  through  this  Turkish  war 
with  success,"  said  Zagloba. 

"  The  Lord  knows  best  what  pleases  Him  most,"  replied 
the  little  knight :  "  if  He  wishes  for  a  church  He  will  pre- 
serve me ;  and  if  He  prefers  my  blood,  I  shall  not  spare  it, 
as  God  is  dear  to  me." 

Basia  with  health  regained  her  humor.  Two  weeks  later 
she  gave  command  to  open  the  door  of  her  chamber  a  little 
one  evening ;  and  when  the  officers  had  assembled  in  the 
room,  she  called  out  with  her  silvery  voice :  — 


PAN  MICHAEL.  369 

"Good-evening,  gentlemen!  I  shall  not  die  this  time, 
aha ! " 

"  Thanks  to  the  Most  High  God !"  answered  the  officers,  in 
chorus. 

"  Glory  be  to  God,  dear  child !  "  exclaimed  Pan  Moto- 
vidlo,  who  loved  Basia  particularly  with  a  fatherly  affection, 
and  who  in  moments  of  great  emotion  spoke  always  in 
Russian.1 

"  See,  gentlemen,"  continued  Basia,  "  what  has  hap- 
pened !  Who  could  have  hoped  for  this  ?  Lucky  that  it 
ended  so." 

"God  watched  over  innocence,"  called  the  chorus  again 
through  the  door. 

"  But  Pan  Zagloba  laughed  at  me  more  than  once,  because 
I  have  more  love  for  the  sabre  than  the  distaff.  Well, 
a  distaff  or  a  needle  would  have  helped  me  greatly !  But 
did  n't  I  act  like  a  cavalier,  did  n't  I  ?  " 

"  An  angel  could  not  have  done  better  !  " 

Zagloba  interrupted  the  conversation  by  closing  the  door 
of  the  chamber,  for  he  feared  too  much  excitement  for 
Basia.  But  she  was  angry  as  a  cat  at  the  old  man,  for  she 
had  a  wish  for  further  conversation,  and  especially  to  hear 
more  praises  of  her  bravery  and  valor.  When  danger 
had  passed,  and  was  merely  a  reminiscence,  she  was  very 
proud  of  her  action  against  Azya,  and  demanded  praise 
absolutely.  More  than  once  she  turned  to  the  little  knight, 
and  pushing  his  breast  with  her  finger  said,  with  the  mien 
of  a  spoiled  child,  — 

"  Praise  for  the  bravery !  " 

And  he,  the  obedient,  praised  her  and  fondled  her,  and 
kissed  her  on  the  eyes  and  on  the  hands,  till  Zagloba, 
though  he  was  greatly  affected  himself  in  reality,  pretended 
to  be  scandalized,  and  muttered,  — 

"  Ah,  everything  will  be  as  lax  as  grandfather's  whip." 

The  general  rejoicing  in  Hreptyoff  over  Basia's  recovery 
was  troubled  only  by  the  remembrance  of  the  injury  which 
Azya's  treason  had  wrought  in  the  Commonwealth,  and  the 
terrible  fate  of  old  Pan  Novoveski,  of  Pani  and  Panna 
Boski,  and  of  Eva.  Basia  was  troubled  no  little  by  this, 
and  with  her  every  one ;  for  the  events  at  Rashkoff  were 
known  in  detail,  not  only  in  Hreptyoff,  but  in  Kamenyets 
and  farther  on.  A  few  days  before,  Pan  Myslishevski  had 

1  Motovidlo's  words  are  Russian  in  the  original. 
24 


370  PAN  MICHAEL. 

stopped  in  Hreptyoff ;  notwithstanding  the  treason  of  Azya, 
Krychinski,  and  Adurovich,  he  did  not  lose  hope  of  attract- 
ing to  the  Polish  side  the  other  captains.  After  'Pan 
Myslishevski  caine  Pan  Bogush,  and  later,  news  directly 
from  Mohiloff,  Yanipol,  and  Rashkoff  itself. 

In  Mohiloff,  Pan  Gorzenski,  evidently  a  better  soldier  than 
orator,  did  not  let  himself  be  deceived.  Intercepting  Azya's 
orders  to  the  Tartars  whom  he  left  behind,  Pan  Gorzenski 
fell  upon  them,  with  a  handful  of  Mazovian  infantry,  and 
cut  them  down  or  took  them  prisoners ;  besides,  he  sent  a 
warning  to  Yampol,  through  which  that  place  was  saved. 
The  troops  returned  soon  after.  So  Rashkoff  was  the  only 
victim.  Pan  Michael  received  a  letter  from  Pan  Byalo- 
glovski  himself,  giving  a  report  of  events  there  and  other 
affairs  relating  to  the  whole  Commonwealth. 

"  It  is  well  that  I  returned,"  wrote  Pan  Byaloglovski,  among  other 
things,  "for  Novoveski,  my  second,  is  not  in  a  state  now  to  do  duty. 
He  is  more  like  a  skeleton  than  a  man,  and  we  shall  be  sure  to  lose  a 
great  cavalier,  for  suffering  has  crushed  him  beyond  the  measure  of 
his  strength.  His  father  is  slain ;  his  sister,  in  the  last  degree  of 
shame,  given  to  Adurovich  by  Azya,  who  took  Panna  Boski  for  him- 
self. Nothing  can  be  done  for  them,  even  should  there  be  success  in 
rescuing  them  from  captivity.  We  know  this  from  a  Tartar  who 
sprained  his  shoulder  in  crossing  the  river ;  taken  prisoner  by  our 
men,  he  was  put  on  the  fire,  and  divulged  everything.  Azya,  Kry- 
chinski,  and  Adurovich  have  gone  to  Adrianople.  Novoveski  is 
struggling  to  follow  without  fail,  saying  that  he  must  take  Azya, 
even  from  the  centre  of  the  Sultan's  camp,  and  have  vengeance.  He 
was  always  obstinate  and  daring,  and  there  is  no  reason  now  to 
wonder  at  him,  since  it  is  a  question  of  Panna  Boski,  whose  evil  fate 
we  all  bewail  with  tears,  for  she  was  a  sweet  maiden,  and  I  do  not 
know  the  man  whose  heart  she  did  not  win.  But  I  restrain  Novo- 
veski, and  tell  him  that  Azya  himself  will  come  to  him  ;  for  war  is 
certain,  and  this  also,  that  the  hordes  will  move  in  the  vanguard. 
We  have  news  from  Moldavia  from  the  perkulabs,  and  from  Turkish 
merchants  as  well,  that  troops  are  assembling  already  near  Adri- 
anople, —  a  great  many  of  the  horde.  The  Turkish  cavalry,  which 
they  call  '  spahis,'  are  mustering  too ;  and  the  Sultan  himself  is  to 
come  with  the  janissaries.  My  benefactor,  there  will  be  untold 
myriads  of  them  ;  for  the  whole  Orient  is  in  movement,  and  we  have 
only  a  handful  of  troops.  Our  whole  hope  is  in  the  rock  of  Kamen- 
yets,  which,  God  grant,  is  provisioned  properly.  In  Adrianople 
it  is  spring ;  and  with  us  almost  spring,  for  tremendous  rains  are 
falling  and  grass  is  appearing.  I  am  going  to  Yampol ;  for  Rashkoff 
is  only  a  heap  of  ashes,  and  there  is  no  place  to  incline  one's  head>  or 
anything  to  put  into  the  mouth.  Besides,  I  think  that  we  shall  be 
withdrawn  from  all  the  forts." 


PAN  MICHAEL.  371 

The  little  knight  had  information  of  equal  and  even 
greater  certainty,  since  it  came  from  Hotin.  He  had 
sent  it  too  a  short  time  before  to  the  hetman.  Still,  Byalo- 
gluvski's  letter,  coming  from  the  remotest  boundary,  made 
a  powerful  impression  on  him,  precisely  because  it  confirmed 
that  intelligence.  But  the  little  knight  had  no  fears  touch- 
ing war,  his  fears  were  for  Basia. 

"  The  order  of  the  hetinan  to  withdraw  the  garrisons  may 
come  any  day,"  said  he  to  Zagloba;  "and  service  is  service. 
It  will  be  necessary  to  move  without  delay  ;  but  Basia  is  in 
bed  yet,  and  the  weather  is  bad." 

"If  ten  orders  were  to  come,"  said  Zagloba,  "Basia  is 
the  main  question ;  we  will  stay  here  until  she  recovers 
completely.  Besides,  the  war  will  not  begin  before  the  end 
of  the  thaws,  much  less  before  the  end  of  winter,  especially 
as  they  will  bring  heavy  artillery  against  Kamenyets." 

"That  old  volunteer  is  always  sitting  within  you,"  replied 
the  little  knight,  with  impatience ;  "you  think  an  order  may 
be  delayed  for  private  matters." 

"  Well,  if  an  order  is  dearer  to  you  than  Basia,  pack  her 
into  a  wagon  and  march.  I  know,  I  know,  you  are  ready 
at  command  to  put  her  in  with  forks,  if  it  appears  that  she 
is  unable  to  sit  in  the  wagon  with  her  own  strength.  May 
the  hangman  take  you  with  such  discipline  !  In  old  times  a 
man  did  what  he  could,  and  what  he  could  n't  he  did  n't  do. 
You  have  kindness  on  your  lips,  but  just  let  them  cry, 
1  Hakla  on  the  Turk ! '  then  you  '11  spit  out  your  kindness  as 
you  would  a  peachstone,  and  you  will  take  that  unfortunate 
woman  on  horseback  with  a  lariat." 

"  I  without  pity  for  Basia !  Fear  the  wounds  of  the 
Crucified ! "  cried  the  little  knight. 

Zagloba  puffed  angrily  for  a  time,  then  looking  at  the 
suffering  face  of  Pan  Michael,  he  said,  — 

"Michael,  you  know  that  I  say  what  I  say  out  of  love 
really  parental  for  Basia.  Otherwise  would  I  be  sitting 
here  under  the  Turkish  axe,  instead  of  enjoying  leisure  in  a 
safe  place,  which  at  my  years  no  man  could  take  ill  of  me  ? 
But  who  got  Basia  for  you  ?  If  it  shall  be  seen  that  it  was 
not  I,  then  command  me  to  drink  a  vat  of  water  without  a 
thing  to  give  taste  to  it." 

"  I  could  not  repay  you  in  a  lifetime  for  Basia ! "  cried  the 
little  knight. 

Then  they  took  each  other  by  the  shoulders,  and  the  best 
harmony  began  between  them. 


372  PAN  MICHAEL. 

"  I  have  planned,"  said  the  little  knight,  "  that  when  war 
comes,  you  will  take  Basia  to  Pan  Yan's  place.  Chambuls 
do  not  go  that  far." 

"  I  will  do  so  for  you,  though  it  would  delight  me  to  go 
against  the  Turk ;  for  nothing  disgusts  me  like  that  swinish 
nation  which  does  not  drink  wine." 

"  I  fear  only  one  thing :  Basia  will  try  to  be  at  Kamenyets, 
so  as  to  be  near  me.  My  skin  creeps  at  thought  of  this ; 
but  as  God  is  God  she  will  try." 

"Do  not  let  her  try.  Has  little  evil  come  already, 
because  you  indulge  her  in  everything,  and  let  her  go  on 
that  expedition  to  Rashkoff,  though  I  cried  out  against  it 
immediately  ?  " 

"  But  that  is  not  true !  You  said  that  you  would  not 
advise." 

"  When  I  say  that  I  will  not  advise  a  thing,  that  is  worse 
than  if  I  had  spoken  against  it." 

"  Basia  ought  to  be  wise  now,  but  she  will  not.  When 
she  sees  the  sword  over  my  head  she  will  resist." 

"Do  not  let  her  resist,  I  repeat.  For  God's  sake,  what 
sort  of  a  straw  husbaad  are  you  ?  " 

"  I  confess  that  when  she  puts  her  fists  in  her  eyes  and 
begins  to  cry,  or  just  let  her  pretend  to  cry,  the  heart  in  me 
is  like  butter  on  a  frying-pan.  It  must  be  that  she  has 
given  me  some  herb.  As  to  sending  her,  I  will  send  her, 
for  her  safety  is  dearer  to  me  than  my  own  life ;  but  when  I 
think  that  I  must  torture  her  so  the  breath  stops  in  me 
from  pity." 

"Michael,  have  God  in  your  heart!  Don't  be  led  by  the 
nose ! " 

"  Bah !  don't  be  led  yourself.  Who,  if  not  you,  said  that 
I  have  no  pity  for  her  ?  " 

"What 's  that  ? "  asked  Zagloba. 

"  You  do  not  lack  ingenuity,  but  now  you  are  scratching 
behind  your  ear  yourself." 

"  Because  I  'm  thinking  what  better  argument  to  use." 

"  But  if  she  puts  her  fists  in  her  eyes  at  once  ?  " 

"  She  will,  as  God  is  dear  to  me  ! "  said  Zagloba,  with 
evident  alarm. 

And  they  were  perplexed,  for,  to  tell  the  truth,  Basia  had 
measured  both  perfectly.  They  had  petted  her  to  the  last 
degree  in  her  sickness,  and  loved  her  so  much  that  the 
necessity  of  opposing  her  wish  and  desire  filled  them  with 
fear.  That  Basia  would  not  resist,  and  would  yield  with 


PAN  MICHAEL.  373 

submission  to  the  decree,  both  knew  well ;  but  not  to 
mention  Pan  Michael,  it  would  have  been  pleasanter  for 
Zagloba  to  rush  himself  the  third  man  on  a  whole  regiment 
of  janissaries,  than  to  see  her  putting  her  little  fists  into 
her  eyes. 


374  PAN   MICHAEL. 


CHAPTER  XLIV. 

ON  that  same  day  there  came  to  them  aid  infallible,  as 
they  thought,  in  the  persons  of  guests  unexpected  and  dear 
above  all.  The  Ketlings  came  toward  evening,  without 
any  previous  intimation.  The  delight  and  astonishment  at 
seeing  them  in  Hrept}roff  was  indescribable ;  and  they, 
learning  on  the  first  inquiry  that  Basia  was  returning  to 
health,  were  comforted  in  an  equal  degree.  Krysia  rushed 
at  once  to  the  bedroom,  and  at  the  same  moment  exclama- 
tions and  cries  from  there  announced  Basia's  happiness 
to  the  little  knight. 

Ketling  and  Pan  Michael  embraced  each  other  a  long 
time;  now  they  put  each  other  out  at  arm's  length,  now 
they  embraced  again. 

"For  God's  sake  !  "  said.the  little  knight.  «  I  should  be 
less  pleased  to  receive  the  baton  than  to  see  you ;  but  what 
are  you  doing  in  these  parts  ?  " 

"  The  hetman  has  made  me  commander  of  the  artillery  at 
Kamenyets,"  said  Ketling  ;  "  therefore  I  went  with  my  wife 
to  that  place.  Hearing  there  of  the  trials  that  had  met  you, 
I  set  out  without  delay  for  Hreptyoff.  Praise  be  to  God, 
Michael,  that  all  has  ended  well !  We  travelled  in  great 
suffering  and  uncertaintj7",  for  we  knew  not  whether  we  were 
coming  here  to  rejoice  or  to  mourn." 

"  To  rejoice,  to  rejoice  ! "  broke  in  Zagloba. 

"  How  did  it  happen  ?  "  asked  Ketling. 

The  little  knight  and  Zagloba  vied  with  each  other  in 
narrating ;  and  Ketling  listened,  raising  his  eyes  and '  his 
hands  to  heaven  in  wonderment  at  Basia's  bravery. 

When  they  had  talked  all  they  wished,  the  little  knight 
fell  to  inquiring  of  Ketling  what  had  happened  to  him,  and 
he  made  a  report  in  detail.  After  their  marriage  they  had 
lived  on  the  boundary  of  Courland  ;  they  were  so  happy 
with  each  other  that  it  could  not  be  better  in  heaven. 
Ketling  in  taking  Krysia  knew  perfectly  that  he  was  taking 
"  a  being  above  earth,"  and  he  had  not  changed  his  opinion 
so  far. 

Zagloba  and  Pan  Michael,  remembering  by  this  expres- 
sion the  former  Ketling  who  expressed  himself  always  in  a 


PAN   MICHAEL.  375 

courtly  and  elevated  style,  began  to  embrace  him  again; 
and  when  all  three  had  satisfied  their  friendship,  the  old 
noble  asked,  — 

"  Has  there  come  to'that  being  above  earth  any  earthly 
case  which  kicks  with  its  feet  and  looks  for  teeth  in  its 
mouth  with  its  finger  ?  " 

"God  gave  us  a  son,"  said  Ketling;  "and  now  again  —  " 

"  I  have  noticed,"  interrupted  Zagloba.  "  But  here  every- 
thing is  on  the  old  footing." 

Then  he  fixed  his  seeing  eye  on  the  little  knight,  whose 
mustaches  quivered  repeatedly. 

Further  conversation  was  interrupted  by  the  coming  of 
Krysia,  who  pointed  to  the  door  and  said,  — 

"Basia  invites  you." 

All  went  to  the  chamber  together,  and  there  new  greetings 
began.  Ketling  kissed  Basia's  hand,  and  Fan  Michael 
kissed  Krysia's  again  ;  then  all  looked  at  one  another  with 
curiosity,  as  people  do  who  have  not  met  for  a  long  time. 

Ketling  had  changed  in  almost  nothing,  except  that  he 
had  his  hair  cut  closely,  and  that  made  him  seem  younger ; 
but  Krysia  had  changed  greatly,  at  least  considering  the 
time.  She  was  not  so  slender  and  willowy  as  before,  and 
her  face  was  paler,  for  which  reason  the  down  on  her  lip 
seemed  darker ;  but  she  had  the  former  beautiful  eyes 
with  unusually  long  lashes,  arid  the  former  calmness  of 
countenance.  Her  features,  once  so  wonderful,  had  lost, 
however,  their  previous  delicacy.  The  loss  might  be,  it  is 
true,  only  temporary  ;  still,  Fan  Michael,  looking  at  her  and 
comparing  her  with  his  Basia,  could  not  but  think,  — 

"For  God's  sake,  how  could  I  fall  in  love  with  her  when 
both  were  together  ?  Where  were  my  eyes  ?  " 

On  the  other  hand,  Basia  seemed  beautiful  to  Ketling; 
for  she  was  really  beautiful,  with  her  golden,  wayward  fore- 
lock dropping  toward  her  brows,  with  her  complexion  which, 
losing  some  of  its  ruddiness,  had  become  after  her  illness 
like  the  leaf  of  a  white  rose.  But  now  her  face  was 
enlivened  somewhat  by  delight,  and  her  delicate  nostrils 
moved  quickly.  She  seemed  as  youthful  as  if  she  had  not 
yet  reached  maturity  ;  and  at  the  first  glance  it  might  be 
thought  that  she  was  some  ten  years  younger  than  Ketling's 
wife.  Bxit  her  beauty  acted  on  the  sensitive  Ketling  only 
in  this  way.  that  he  began  to  think  with  more  tenderness 
of  his  wife,  for  he  felt  guilty  with  regard  to  her. 

Both  women  related  to  each  other  all  that  could  be  told 


376  PAN  MICHAEL. 

in  a  short  space  of  time ;  and  the  whole  company,  sitting 
around  Basia's  bed,  began  to  recall  former  days.  But  that 
conversation  did  not  move  somehow,  for  there  were  in  those 
former  days  delicate  subjects,  —  the  confidences  of  Pan 
Michael  with  Krysia;  and  the  indifference  of  the  little 
knight  for  Basia,  loved  later,  and  various  promises  and 
various  despairs.  Life  in  Ketling's  house  had  a  charm  for 
all,  and  left  an  agreeable  memory  behind ;  but  to  speak  of  it 
was  awkward. 

Ketling  changed  the  subject  soon  after :  — 

"  I  have  not  told  you  yet  that  on  the  road  we  stopped 
with  Pan  Yan,  who  would  not  let  us  go  for  two  weeks,  and 
entertained  us  so  that  in  heaven  it  could  not  be  better." 

"  By  the  dear  God,  how  are  they  ? "  cried  Zagloba. 
"  Then  you  found  them  at  home  ?  " 

"We  did;  for  Pan  Yan  had  returned  for  a  time  from 
the  hetman's  with  his  three  elder  sons,  who  serve  in  the 
cavalry." 

"  I  have  not  seen  Pan  Yan  nor  his  family  since  the  time 
of  your  wedding,"  said  the  little  knight.  "  He  was  here  in 
the  Wilderness,  and  his  sons  were  with  him ;  but  I  did  not 
happen  to  meet  them." 

"They  are  all  very  anxious  to  see  you,"  said  Ketling, 
turning  to  Zagloba. 

"  And  I  to  see  them,"  replied  the  old  man.  "  But  this  is 
how  it  is :  if  I  am  here,  I  am  sad  without  them ;  if  I  go  there, 
I  shall  be  sad  without  this  weasel.  Such  is  human  life ;  if 
the  wind  does  n't  blow  into  one  ear  it  will  into  the  other. 
But  it  is  worse  for  the  lone  man,  for  if  I  had  children  I 
should  not  be  loving  a  stranger." 

"  You  would  not  love  your  own  children  more  than  us," 
said  Basia. 

When  he  heard  this  Zagloba  was  greatly  delighted,  and 
casting  off  sad  thoughts,  he  fell  at  once  into  jovial  humor; 
when  he  had  puffed  somewhat  he  said,  — 

"  Ha,  I  was  a  fool  there  at  Ketling's  ;  I  got  Krysia  and 
Basia  for  you  two,  and  I  did  not  think  of  myself.  There 
was  still  time  then." 

Here  he  turned  to  the  women,  — 

"  Confess  that  you  would  have  fallen  in  love  with  me, 
both  of  you,  and  either  one  would  have  preferred  me  to 
Michael  or  Ketling." 

"  Of  course  we  should !  "  exclaimed  Basia. 

"Helena,  Pan  Yan's  wife,  too   in   her   day  would  have 


PAN  MICHAEL.  377 

preferred  me.  Ha!  it  might  have  been.  I  should  then 
have  a  sedate  woman,  none  of  your  tramps,  knocking  teeth 
out  of  Tartars.  But  is  she  well  ?  " 

"  She  is  well,  but  a  little  anxious,  for  their  two  middle 
boys  ran  away  to  the  army  from  school  at  Lukoff,"  said 
Ketling.  "Pan  Yan  himself  is  glad  that  there  is  such  met- 
tle in  the  boys  ;  but  a  mother  is  a  mother  almost  always." 

"  Have  they  many  children  ?  "  inquired  Basia,  with  a  sigh. 

"  Twelve  boys,  and  now  the  fair  sex  has  begun,"  answered 
Ketling. 

"  Ha ! "  cried  Zagloba,  "  the  special  blessing  of  God  is  on 
that  house.  I  have  reared  them  all  at  my  own  breast,  like  a 
pelican.  I  must  pull  the  ears  of  those  middle  boys,  for  if 
they  had  to  run  away  why  did  n't  they  come  here  to  Michael  ? 
But  wait,  it  must  be  Michael  and  Yasek  who  ran  away. 
There  was  such  a  flock  of  them  that  their  own  father  con- 
founded their  names ;  and  you  could  n't  see  a  crow  for  three 
miles  around,  for  the  rogues  had  killed  every  crow  with 
their  muskets.  Bah,  bah  !  you  would  have  to  look  through 
the  world  for  another  such  woman.  '  Halska,'  I  used  to 
say  to  her,  'the  boys  are  getting  too  big  for  me,  I  must 
have  new  sport.'  Then  she  would,  as  it  were,  frown  at  me  ; 
but  the  time  came  as  if  written  down.  Imagine  to  yourself, 
it  went  so  far  that  if  any  woman  in  the  country  about 
could  not  get  consolation,  she  borrowed  a  dress  from  Halska; 
and  it  helped  her,  as  God  is  dear  to  me,  it  did." 

All  wondered  greatly,  and  a  moment  of  silence  fol- 
lowed ;  then  the  voice  of  the  little  knight  was  heard  on  a 
sudden,  — 

"  Basia,  do  you  hear  ?  " 

"  Michael,  will  you  be  quiet  ?  "  answered  Basia.. 

But  Michael  would  not  be  quiet,  for  various  cunning 
thoughts  were  coming  to  his  head.  It  seemed  to  him  above 
all  that  with  that  affair  another  equally  important  might 
be  accomplished ;  hence  he  began  to  talk,  as  it  were  to 
himself,  carelessly,  as  about  the  commonest  thing  in  the 
world,  — 

"  As  God  lives,  it  would  be  well  to  visit  Pan  Yan  and  his 
wife ;  but  he  will  not  be  at  home  now,  for  he  is  going  to  the 
hetman ;  but  she  has  sense,  and  is  not  accustomed  to  tempt 
the  Lord  God,  therefore  she  will  stay  at  home." 

Here  he  turned  to  Krysia.  "  The  spring  is  coining,  and 
the  weather  will  be  fine.  Now  it  is  too  early  for  Basia,  but 
a  little  later  I  might  not  be  opposed,  for  it  is  a  friendly 


378  PAN  MICHAEL. 

obligation.  Pan  Zagloba  would  take  you  both  there ;  in  the 
fall,  when  all  would  be  quiet,  I  would  go  after  you." 

"That  is  a  splendid  idea,"  exclaimed  Zagloba;  "I  must 
go  anyhow,  for  I  have  fed  them  with  ingratitude.  Indeed, 
I  have  forgotten  that  they  are  in  the  world,  until  I  am 
ashamed." 

"What  do  you  say  to  this?"  inquired  Pan  Michael, 
looking  carefully  into  Krysia's  eyes? 

But  she  answered  most  unexpectedly,  with  her  usual 
calmness,  — 

"  I  should  be  glad,  but  I  cannot ;  for  I  will  remain  with 
my  husband  in  Karnenyets,  and  will  not  leave  him  for 
any  cause." 

"  In  God's  name,  what  do  I  hear  ?  "  cried  Pan  Michael. 
"You  will  remain  in  the  fortress,  which  will  be  invested 
surely,  and  that  by  an  enemy '  knowing  no  moderation  ? 
I  should  not  talk  if  the  war  were  with  some  civilized 
enemy,  but  this  is  an  affair  with  barbarians.  But  do  you 
know  what  a  captured  city  means,  —  what  Turkish  or 
Tartar  captivity  is  ?  I  do  not  believe  my  ears  ! " 

"Still,  it  cannot  be  otherwise,"  replied  Krysia. 

"  Ketling,"  cried  the  little  knight,  in  despair,  "  is  this  the 
way  you  let  yourself  be  mastered  ?  O  man,  have  God  in 
your  heart ! " 

"We  deliberated  long,"  answered  Ketling,  "and  this  was 
the  end  of  it." 

"  And  our  son  is  in  Kamenyets,  under  the  care  of  a  lady, 
a  relative  of  mine.  Is  it  certain  that  Kamenyets  must  be 
captured  ?  "  Here  Krysia  raised  her  calm  eyes  :  "  God  is 
mightier  than  the  Turk,  —  He  will  not  betray  our  con- 
fidence ;  and  because  I  have  sworn  to  my  husband  not  to 
leave  him  till  death,  my  place  is  with  him." 

The  little  knight  was  terribly  confused,  for  from  Krysia 
he  had  expected  something  different  altogether. 

Basia,  who  from  the  very  beginning  of  the  conversation 
saw  whither  Michael  was  tending,  laughed  cunningly.  She 
fixed  her  quick  eyes  on  him,  and  said,  — 

"  Michael,  do  you  hear  ?  " 

"Basia,  be  quiet!"  exclaimed  the  little  knight,  in  the 
greatest  embarrassment.  Then  he  began  to  cast  despairing 
glances  at  Zagloba,  as  if  expecting  salvation  from  him;  but 
that  traitor  rose  suddenly,  and  said,  — 

"We  must  think  of  refreshment,  for  it  is  not  by  word 
alone  that'man  liveth."  And  he  went  out  of  the  chamber. 


PAN   MICHAEL.  379 

Pan  Michael  followed  quickly,  and  stopped  him. 

"  Well,  and  what  now  ?  "  asked  Zagloba. 

"  Well,  and  what  ?  " 

"  But  may  the  bullets  strike  that  Ketling  woman  !  For 
God's  sake,  how  is  this  Commonwealth  not  to  perish  when 
women  are  managing  it  ?  " 

"  Cannot  you  think  out  something  ?" 

"  Since  you  fear  your  wife,  what  can  I  think  out  for  you  ? 
Get  the  blacksmith  to  shoe  you,  —  that 's  what ! " 


380  PAN  MICHAEL. 


CHAPTER    XLV. 

THE  Ketlings  stayed  about  three  weeks.  At  the  expira- 
tion of  that  time  Basia  tried  to  leave  her  bed ;  but  it  appeared 
that  she  could  not  stand  on  her  feet  yet.  Health  had  returned 
to  her  sooner  than  strength ;  and  the  doctor  commanded  her 
to  lie  till  all  her  vigor  came  back  to  her.  Meanwhile  spring 
came.  First  a  strong  and  warm  wind,  rising  from  the  side  of 
the  Wilderness  and  the  Black  Sea,  rent  and  swept  away  that 
veil  of  clouds  as  if  it  were  a  robe  which  had  rotted  from  age, 
and  then  began  to  gather  and  scatter  those  clouds  through 
the  sky,  as  a  shepherd  dog  gathers  and  scatters  flocks  of 
sheep.  The  clouds,  fleeing  before  it,  covered  the  earth  fre- 
quently with  abundant  rain,  which  fell  in  drops  as  large  as 
berries.  The  melting  remnant  of  snow  and  ice  formed 
lakes  on  the  flat  steppe ;  from  the  cliffs  ribbons  of  Vater 
were  falling;  along  the  beds  of  ravines  streams  rose, — 
and  all  those  waters  were  flying  with  a  noise  and  an  out- 
break and  uproar  to  the  Dniester,  just  as  children  fly  with 
delight  to  their  mother. 

Through  the  rifts  between  the  clouds  the  sun  shone  every 
few  moments,  —  bright,  refreshed,  and  as  it  were  wet  from 
bathing  in  that  endless  abyss. 

Then  bright-green  blades  of  grass  began  to  rise  through 
the  softened  ground ;  the  slender  twigs  of  trees  put  forth 
buds  abundantly,  and  the  sun  gave  heat  with  growing 
power.  In  the  sky  flocks  of  birds  appeared,  hence  rows  of 
cranes,  wild  geese,  and  storks ;  then  the  wind  began  to  bring 
crowds  of  swallows ;  the  frogs  croaked  in  a  great  chorus  in 
the  warmed  water ;  the  small  birds  were  singing  madly ; 
and  through  pine-woods  and  forests  and  steppes  and  ravines 
went  one  great  outcry,  as  if  all  Nature  were  shouting  with 
delight  and  enthusiasm, — 

"Spring!    U-ha!    Spring!" 

But  for  those  hapless  regions  spring  brought  mourning, 
not  rejoicing ;  death,  not  life.  In  a  few  days  after  the 
departure  of  the  Ketlings  the  little  knight  received  the 
following  intelligence  from  Pan  Myslishevski,  — 

"  On  the  plain  of  Kuchunkaury  the  conflux  of  troops  increases 
daily.  The  Sultan  has  sent  considerable  sums  to  the  Crimea.  The 


I 'AN   MICHAEL.  381 

Khan  is  going  with  fifty  thousand  of  the  horde  to  assist  Doroshrnko. 
As  soon  as  the  Hoods  dry,  the  multitude  will  advance  by  the  Black 
Trail  and  the  trail  of  Kuchman.  God  pity  the  Commonwealth  !" 

Volodyovski  sent  Pyentka,  his  attendant,  to  the  hetman 
at  once  with  these  tidings.  But  he  himself  did  not  hasten 
from  Hreptyoff.  First,  as  a  soldier,  he  could  not  leave  that 
stanitsa  without  command  of  the  hetman ;  second,  he  had 
spent  too  many  years  at  "  tricks  "  with  the  Tartars  not  to 
know  that  chambuls  would  not  move  so  early.  The  waters 
had  not  fallen  yet ;  grass  had  not  grown  sufficiently ;  and 
the  Cossacks  were  still  in  winter  quarters.  The  little 
knight  expected  the  Turks  in  summer  at  the  earliest ;  for 
though  they  were  assembling  already  at  Adrianople,  such 
a  gigantic  tabor,  such  throngs  of  troops,  of  camp  servants, 
such  burdens,  so  many  horses,  camels,  and  buffaloes,  ad- 
vanced very  slowly.  The  Tartar  cavalry  might  be  looked 
for  earlier,  —  at  the  end  of  April  or  the  beginning  of  May. 
It  is  true  that  before  the  main  body,  which  counted  tens 
of  thousands  of  warriors,  there  fell  always  on  the  country 
detached  chambuls  and  more  or  less  numerous  bands,  as 
single  drops  of  rain  come  before  the  great  downpour ; 
but  the  little  knight  did  not  fear  these.  Even  picked 
Tartar  horsemen  could  not  withstand  the  cavalry  of  the 
Commonwealth  in  the  open  field:  and  what  could  bands 
do  which  at  the  mere  report  that  troops  were  coming 
scattered  like  dust  before  a  whirlwind  ? 

In  every  event  there  was  time  enough ;  and  even  if 
there  were  not,  Pan  Michael  would  not  have  been  greatly 
averse  to  rubbing  against  some  chambuls  in  a  way  which 
for  them  would  be  equally  painful  and  memorable. 

He  was  a  soldier,  blood  and  bone,  —  a  soldier  by  profes- 
sion ;  hence  the  approach  of  a  war  roused  in  him  thirst  for 
the  blood  of  his  enemy,  and  brought  to  him  calmness  as  well. 
Pan  Zagloba  was  less  calm,  though  inured  beyond  most  men 
to  great  dangers  in  the  course  of  his  long  life.  In  sudden 
emergencies  he  found  courage ;  he  had  developed  it  besides 
by  long  though  often  involuntary  practice,  and  had  gained 
in  his  time  famous  victories ;  still,  the  first  news  of  coining 
war  always  affected  him  deeply.  But  now  when  the  little 
knight  explained  his  own  view,  Zagloba  gained  more  con- 
solation, and  even  began  to  challenge  the  whole  Orient,  and 
to  threaten  it. 

"When  Christian  nations  war  with  one  another,"  said  he, 


382  PAN   MICHAEL. 

''the  Lord  Jesus  Himself  is  sad,  and  all  the  saints  scratch 
their  heads,  for  when  the  Master  is  anxious  the  household  is 
anxious ;  but  whoso  beats  the  Turk  gives  Heaven  the  greatest 
delight.  I  have  it  from  a  certain  spiritual  personage  that  the 
saints  simply  grow  sick  at  sight  of  those  dog  brothers ;  and 
thus  heavenly  food  and  drink  does  not  go  to  their  profit, 
and  even  their  eternal  happiness  is  marred." 

"  That  must  be  really  so,"  answered  the  little  knight. 
"  But  the  Turkish  power  is  immense,  and  our  troops  might 
be  put  on  the  palm  of  your  hand." 

"  Still,  they  will  not  conquer  the  whole  Commonwealth. 
Had  Carolus  Gustavus  little  power  ?  In  those  times  there 
were  wars  with  the  Northerners  and  the  Cossacks  and 
Rakotsi  and  the  Elector ;  but  where  are  they  to-day  ? 
Besides,  we  took  fire  and  sword  to  their  hearths." 

"That  is  true.  Personally  I  should  uot  fear  this  war, 
because,  as  I  said,  I  must  do  something  notable  to  pay  the 
Lord  Jesus  and  the  Most  Holy  Lady  for  their  mercy  to 
Basia ;  only  God  grant  me  opportunity  !  But  the  question 
for  me  is  this  country,  which  with  Kamenyets  may  fall  into 
Pagan  hands  easily,  even  for  a  time.  Imagine  what  a 
desecration  of  God's  churches  there  would  be,  and  what 
oppression  of  Christian  people !  " 

"  But  don't  talk  to  me  of  the  Cossacks  !  The  ruffians  ! 
They  raised  their  hands  against  the  mother ;  let  that  meet 
them  which  they  wished  for.  The  most  important  thing  is 
that  Kamenyets  should  hold  out.  -What  do  you  think, 
Michael,  will  it  hold  out  ?  " 

"  I  think  that  the  starosta  of  Podolia  has  not  supplied  it 
sufficiently,  and  also  that  the  inhabitants,  secure  in  their 
position,  have  not  done  what  behooved  them.  Ketling  said 
that  the  regiments  of  Bishop  Trebitski  came  in  very  scant 
numbers.  But  as  God  lives,  we  held  out  at  Zbaraj  behind 
a  mere  wretched  trench,  against  great  power ;  we  ought  to 
hold  out  this  time  as  well,  for  that  Kamenyets  is  an  eagle's 
nest." 

"  An  eagle's  nest  truly  ;  but  it  is  unknown  if  an  eagle  is 
in  it,  such  as  was  Prince  Yeremi,  or  merely  a  crow.  Do 
you  know  the  starosta  of  Podolia  ?  " 

"He  is  a  rich  man  and  a  good  soldier,  but  rather 
careless." 

"  I  know  him ;  I  know  him !  More  than  once  have  I 
reproached  him  with  that ;  the  Pototskis  wished  at  one  time 
that  I  should  go  abroad  with  him  for  his  education,  so  that 


PAN  MICHAEL.  383 

he  might  learn  fine  manners  from  me.  But  I  said  :  '  I  will 
not  go  because  of  his  carelessness,  for  never  has  he  two 
straps  to  his  boot ;  he  was  presented  at  court  in  my  boots, 
arid  morocco  is  dear.'  Later,  in  the  time  of  Mary  a  Ludovika, 
he  wore  the  French  costume ;  but  his  stockings  were  always 
down,  and  he  showed  his  bare  calves.  He  will  never  reach 
as  high  as  Prince  Yeremi's  girdle." 

"Another  thing,  the  shopkeepers  of  Kamenyets  fear  a 
siege  greatly;  for  trade  is  stopped  in  time  of  it.  They 
would  rather  belong  even  to  the  Turks,  if  they  could  only 
keep  their  shops  open." 

"  The  scoundrels  !  "  said  Zagloba. 

And  he  and  the  little  knight  were  sorely  concerned,  over 
the  coming  fate  of  Kamenyets ;  it  was  a  personal  question 
concerning  Basia,  who  in  case  of  surrender  would  have  to 
share  the  fate  of  all  the  inhabitants. 

After  a  while  Zagloba  struck  his  forehead  :  "  For  God's 
sake ! "  cried  he,  "  why  are  we  disturbed  ?  Why  should  we 
go  to  that  mangy  Kamenyets,  and  shut  ourselves  up  there  ? 
Is  n't  it  better  for  you  to  stay  with  the  hetman,  and  act  in 
the  field  against  the  enemy  ?  And  in  such  an  event  Basia 
would  not  go  with  you  to  the  squadron,  and  would  have  to 
go  somewhere  besides  Kamenyets,  —  somewhere  far  off,  even 
to  Pan  Yan's  house.  Michael,  God  looks  into  my  heart 
and  sees  what  a  desire  I  have  to  go  against  the  Pagans ; 
but  I  will  do  this  for  you  and  Basia,  —  I  will  take  her 
away." 

"  I  thank  you,"  said  the  little  knight.  "The  whole  case 
is  this  :  if  I  had  not  to  be  in  Kamenyets,  Basia  would  not 
insist ;  but  what 's  to  be  done  when  the  hetman's  command 
comes  ?  " 

"  What 's  to  be  done  when  the  command  comes  ?  May 
the  hangman  tear  all  the  commands !  What 's  to  be  done  ? 
Wait !  I  am  beginning  to  think  quickly.  Here  it  is :  we 
must  anticipate  the  command." 

"  How  is  that  ?  " 

"  Write  on  the  spot  to  Pan  Sobieski,  as  if  reporting  news 
to  him,  and  at  the  end  say  that  in  the  face  of  the  coming 
war  you  wish,  because  of  the  love  which  you  bear  him,  to 
be  near  his  person  and  act  in  the  field.  By  God's  wounds, 
this  is  a  splendid  thought !  For,  first  of  all,  it  is  impossible 
that  they  will  shut  up  such  a  partisan  as  you  behind  a  wall, 
instead  of  using  him  in  the  field ;  and  secondly,  for  such  a 
letter  the  hetman  will  love  you  still  more,  and  will  wish  to 


384  PAN  MICHAEL. 

have  you  near  him.  He  too  will  need  trusty  soldiers. 
Only  listen :  if  Kamenyets  holds  out,  the  glory  will  fall  to 
the  starosta  of  Podolia ;  but  what  you  accomplish  in  the 
field  will  go  to  the  praise  of  the  hetman.  Never  fear !  the 
hetrnan  will  not  yield  you  to  the  starosta.  He  would  rather 
give  some  one  else ;  but  he  will  not  give  either  you  or  me. 
Write  the  letter  ;  remind  him  of  yourself.  Ha  !  my  wit  is 
still  worth  something,  too  good  to  let  hens  pick  it  up  on 
the  dust-heap !  Michael,  let  us  drink  something  on  the 
occasion  —  or  what  !  write  the  letter  first." 

Volodyovski  rejoiced  greatly  indeed;  he  embraced  Zagloba, 
and  thinking  a  while  said,  — 

"And  I  shall  not  tempt  hereby  the  Lord  God,  nor  the 
country,  nor  the  hetmau  ;  for  surely  I  shall  accomplish  much 
in  the  field.  I  thank  you  from  my  heart !  I  think  too  that 
the  hetmau  will  wish  to  have  me  at  hand,  especially  after 
the  letter.  But  not  to  abandon  Kamenyets,  do  you  know 
what  I  '11  do  ?  I  '11  fit  up  a  handful  of  soldiers  at  my  own 
cost,  and  send  them  to  Kamenyets.  I  '11  write  at  once  to 
the  hetman  of  this." 

"  Still  better  !  But,  Michael,  where  will  you  find  the 
men  ?  " 

"  I  have  about  forty  robbers  in  the  cellars,  and  I  '11  take 
those.  As  often  as  I  gave  command  to  hang  some  one, 
Basia  tormented  me  to  spare  his  life ;  more  than  once  she 
advised  me  to  make  soldiers  of  those  robbers.  I  was 
unwilling,  for  an  example  was  needed ;  but  now  war  is 
on  our  shoulders,  and  everything  is  possible.  Those  are 
terrible  fellows,  who  have  smelt  powder.  I  will  pro- 
claim, too,  that  whoso  from  the  ravines  or  the  thickets 
elects  to  join  the  regiment,  will  receive  forgiveness  for 
past  robberies.  There  will  be  about  a  hundred  men ;  Basia 
too  will  be  glad.  You  have  taken  a  great  weight  from 
my  heart." 

That  same  day  the  little  knight  despatched  a  new  mes- 
senger to  the  hetman,  and  proclaimed  life  and  pardon  to 
the  robbers  if  they  would  join  the  infantry.  They  joined 
gladly,  and  promised  to  bring  in  others.  Basia's  delight 
was  unbounded.  Tailors  were  brought  from  Ushytsa,  from 
Kamenyets,  and  from  whence  ever  possible,  to  make  uni- 
forms. The  former  robbers  were  mustered  on  the  square 
of  Hreptyoff.  Pan  Michael  was  rejoiced  in  heart  at  the 
thought  that  he  would  act  himself  in  the  field  against  the 
enemy,  would  not  expose  his  wife  to  the  danger  of  a  siege, 


PAN  MICHAEL.  385 

and  besides  would  render  Kamenyets  and  the  country  note- 
worthy service. 

This  work  had  been  going  on  a  number  of  weeks  when 
one  evening  the  messenger  returned  with  a  letter  from  Pan 
Sobieski. 

The  hetman  wrote  as  follows :  — 

BELOVED  AND  VERY  DEAR  VOLODYOVSKI,  —  Beoause  you  send 
all  news  so  diligently  I  cherish  gratitude  to  you,  and  the  country 
owes  you  thanks.  War  is  certain.  I  have  news  also  from  elsewhere 
that  there  is  a  tremendous  force  in  Kuchunkaury ;  counting  the 
horde,  there  will  be  three  hundred  thousand.  The  horde  may  march 
any  moment.  The  Sultan  values  nothing  so  much  as  Kamenyets. 
The  Tartar  traitors  will  show  the  Turks  every  road,  and  inform 
them  about  Kamenyets.  I  hope  that  God  will  give  that  serpent, 
Tugai  Bey's  son,  into  your  hands,  or  into  Novoveski's,  over  whose 
wrong  I  grieve  sincerely.  As  to  this,  that  you  be  near  me,  God 
knows  how  glad  I  should  be,  but  it  is  impossible.  The  starosta 
of  Podolia  has  shown  me,  it  is  true,  various  kindnesses  since  the  elec- 
tion ;  I  wish,  therefore,  to  send  him  the  best  soldiers,  for  the  rock  of 
Kamenyets  is  to  me  as  my  own  eyesight.  There  will  be  many  there 
who  have  seen  war  once  or  twice  in  their  lives,  and  are  like  a  man 
who  on  a  time  has  eaten  some  peculiar  food  which  he  remembers  all 
his  life  afterward  ;  a  man,  however,  who  has  used  it  as  his  daily  bread, 
and  might  serve  with  experienced  counsel,  will  be  lacking,  or  if  there 
shall  be  such  he  will  be  without  sufficient  weight.  Therefore  I  will 
send  you.  Ketling,  though  a  good  soldier,  is  less  known  ;  the  inhab- 
itants will  have  their  eyes  turned  to  you,  and  though  the  command 
will  remain  with  another,  I  think  that  men  will  obey  you  with  readi- 
ness. That  service  in  Kamenyets  may  be  dangerous,  but  with  us  it 
is  a  habit  to  be  drenched  in  that  rain  from  which  others  hide.  There 
is  reward  enough  for  us  in  glory,  and  a  grateful  remembrance ;  but 
the  main  thing  is  the  country,  to  the  salvation  of  which  I  need  not 
excite  you. 

This  letter,  read  in  the  assembly  of  officers,  made  a  great 
impression ;  for  all  wished  to  serve  in  the  field  rather  than 
in  a  fortress.  Volodyovski  bent  his  head. 

"  What  do  you  think  now,  Michael  ?  "  asked  Zagloba. 

He  raised  his  face,  already  collected,  and  answered  with 
a  voice  as  calm  as  if  he  had  met  no  disappointment  in  his 
hopes,  — 

"  I  will  go  to  Kamenyets.     What  have  I  to  think  ?  " 

And  it  might  have  seemed  that  nothing  else  had  ever  been 
in  his  head. 

After  a  while  his  mustaches  quivered,  and  he  said,  — 

"  Hei !  dear  comrades,  we  will  go  to  Kamenyets,  but  we 
will  not  yield  it," 

N 


386  PAN   MICHAEL. 

"  Unless  we  fall  there/'  said  the  officers.  "  One  death  to 
a  man." 

Zagloba  was  silent  for  some  time;  casting  his  eyes  on 
those  present,  and  seeing  that  all  were  waiting  for  what  he 
would  say,  he  puffed  all  at  once,  and  said,  — 

"  I  will  go  with  you.     Devil  take  it ! " 


PAN  MICHAEL.  33? 


CHAPTER    XLVL 

WHEN  the  earth  had  grown  dry,  and  grass  was  flourish- 
ing, the  Khan  moved  in  person,  with  fifty  thousand  of  the 
Crimean  and  Astrachau  hordes,  to  help  Doroshenko  and  the 
insurgents.  The  Khan  himself,  and  his  relatives,  the  petty 
sultans,  and  all  the  more  important  murzas  and  beys,  wore 
kaftans  as  gifts  from  the  Padishah,  and  went  against  the 
Commonwealth,  not  as  they  went  usually,  for  booty  and 
captives',  but  for  a  holy  war  with  "  fate,"  and  the  i'  destruc- 
tion "  of  Lehistan  (Poland)  and  Christianity. 

Another  and  still  greater  storm  was  gathering  at  Adri- 
anople,  and  against  this  deluge  only  the  rock  of  Karnenyets 
was  standing  erect;  for  the  rest  of  the  Commonwealth  lay 
like  an  open  steppe,  or  like  a  sick  man,  powerless  not  only 
to  defend  himself,  but  even  to  rise  to  his  feet.  The  previ- 
ous Swedish,  Prussian,  Moscow,  Cossack,  and  Hungarian 
wars,  though  victorious  finally,  had  exhausted  the  Common- 
wealth. The  army  confederations  and  the  insurrections 
of  Lyubomirski  of  infamous  memory  had  exhausted  it, 
and  now  it  was  weakened  to  the  last  degree  by  court  quar- 
rels, the  incapacity  of  the  king,  the  feuds  of  magistrates, 
the  blindness  of  a  frivolous  nobility,  and  the  danger  of 
civil  war.  In  vain  did  the  great  Sobieski  forewarn  them  of 
ruin,  —  no  one  would  believe  in  war.  They  neglected  means 
of  defence ;  the  treasury  had  no  money,  the  hetman  no  troops. 
To  a  power  against  which  alliances  of  all  the  Christian 
nations  were  hardly  able  to  stand,  the  hetman  could  oppose 
barely  a  few  thousand  men. 

Meanwhile  in  the  Orient,  where  everything  was  done 
at  the  will  of  the  Padishah,  and  nations  were  as  a  sword 
in  the  hand  of  one  man,  it  was  different  altogether.  From 
the  moment  that  the  great  standard  of  the  Prophet  was 
unfurled,  and  the  horse-tail  standard  planted  on  the  gate  of 
the  seraglio  and  the  tower  of  the  seraskierat,  and  the  ulema 
began  to  proclaim  a  holy  war,  half  Asia  and  all  Northern 
Africa  had  moved.  The  Padishah  himself  had  taken  his 
place  in  spring  on  the  plain  of  Kuchunkaury,  and  was 
assembling  forces  greater  than  any  seen  for  a  long  time 


388  PAN  MICHAEL. 

on  earth.  A  hundred  thousand  spahis  and  janissaries,  the 
pick  of  the  Turkish  army,  were  stationed  near  his  sacred 
person;  and  then  troops  began  to  gather  from  all  the 
remotest  countries  and  possessions.  Those  who  inhabited 
Europe  came  earliest.  The  legions  of  the  mounted  beys 
of  Bosnia  came  with  colors  like  the  dawn,  and  fury  like 
lightning ;  the  wild  warriors  of  Albania  came,  fighting  on  foot 
with  daggers ;  bands  of  Mohammedauized  Serbs  came ;  peo- 
ple came  who  lived  on  the  banks  of  the  Danube,  and  farther 
to  the  south  beyond  the  Balkans,  as  far  as  the  mountains  of 
Greece.  Each  pasha  led  a  whole  army,  which  alone  would 
have  sufficed  to  overrun  the  defenceless  Commonwealth. 
Moldavians  and  Wallachians  came ;  the  Dobrudja  and  Bel- 
grod  Tartars  came  in  force;  some  thousands  of  Lithuanian 
Tartars  and  Cheremis  came,  led  by  the  terrible  A'zya,  son 
of  Tugai  Bey,  and  these  last  were  to  be  guides  through 
the  unfortunate  country,  which  was  well  known  to  them. 

After  these  the  general  militia  from  Asia  began  to  flow  in. 
The  pashas  of  Sivas,  Brussa,  Aleppo,  Damascus,  and  Bagdad, 
besides  regular  troops,  led  armed  throngs,  beginning  with 
men  from  the  cedar-covered  mountains  of  Asia  Minor,  and 
ending  with  the  swarthy  dwellers  on  the  Euphrates  and  the 
Tigris.  Arabians  too  rose  at  the  summons  of  the  Caliph ; 
their  burnooses  covered  as  with  snow*  the  plains  of  Kuchun- 
kaury ;  among  them  were  also  nomads  from  the  sandy 
deserts,  and  inhabitants  of  cities  from  Medina  to  Mecca. 
The  tributary  power  of  Egypt  did  not  remain  at  its  domes- 
tic hearths.  Those  who  dwelt  in  populous  Cairo,  those  who 
in  the  evening  gazed  on  the  flaming  twilight  of  the  pyramids, 
who  wandered  through  Theban  ruins,  who  dwelt  in  those 
murky  regions  whence  the  sacred  Nile  issues  forth,  men 
whom  the  sun  had  burned  to  the  color  of  soot,  —  all  these 
planted  their  arms  on  the  field  of  Adrianople,  praying  now 
to  give  victory  to  Islam,  and  destruction  to  that  land  which 
alone  had  shielded  for  ages  the  rest  of  the  world  against 
the  adherents  of  the  Prophet. 

There  were  legions  of  armed  men  ;  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  horses  were  neighing  on  the  field  ;  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  buffaloes,  of  sheep  and  of  camels,  fed  near  the  herds  of 
horses.  It  might  be  thought  that  at  God's  command  an 
angel  had  turned  people  out  of  Asia,  as  once  he  had  turned 
Adani  out  of  paradise,  and  commanded  them  to  go  to  coun- 
tries in  which  the  sun  was  paler  and  the  plains  were  covered 
in  winter  with  snow.  They  went  then  with  their  herds,  an 


PAN  MICHAEL.  389 

Innumerable  swarm  of  white,  dark,  and  black  warriors. 
How  many  languages  were  heard  there,  how  many  different 
costumes  glittered  in  the  sun  of  spring !  Nations  wondered 
at  nations  ;  the  customs  of  some  were  foreign  to  others,  their 
arms  unknown,  their  methods  of  warfare  different,  and  faith 
alone  joined  those  travelling  generations ;  only  when  the 
muezzins  called  to  prayer  did  those  inany-tongued  hosts  turn 
their  faces  to  the  East,  calling  on  Allah  with  one  voice. 

There  were  more  servants  at  the  court  of  the  Sultan  than 
troops  in  the  Commonwealth.  After  the  army  and  the 
armed  bands  of  volunteers  marched  throngs  of  shop-keepers, 
selling  goods  of  all  kinds  ;  their  wagons,  together  with  those 
of  the  troops,  flowed  on  like  a  river. 

Two  pashas  of  three  tails,  at  the  head  of  two  armies,  had 
no  other  work  but  to  furnish  food  for  those  myriads ;  and 
there  was  abundance  of  everything.  The  sandjak  of  San- 
grytan  watched  over  the  whole  supply  of  powder.  With 
the  army  went  two  hundred  cannon,  and  of  these  ten  were 
"  stormers,"  so  large  that  no  Christian  king  had  the  like. 
The  Beglerbeys  of  Asia  were  on  the  right  wing,  the  Euro- 
peans on  the  left.  The  tents  occupied  so  wide  an  expanse 
that  in  presence  of  them  Adrianople  seemed  no  very  great 
city.  The  Sultan's  tents,  gleaming  in  purple  silk,  satin, 
and  gold  embroidery,  formed,  as  it  were,  a  city  apart. 
Around  them  swarmed  armed  guards,  black  eunuchs  from 
Abyssinia,  in  yellow  and  blue  kaftans ;  gigantic  porters 
from  the  tribes  of  Kurdistan,  intended  for  bearing  bur- 
dens ;  young  boys  of  the  Uzbeks,  with  faces  of  uncommon 
beauty,  shaded  by  silk  fringes ;  and  many  other  servants, 
varied  in  color  as  flowers  of  the  steppe.  Some  of  these 
were  equerries,  some  served  at  the  tables,  some  bore  lamps, 
and  some  served  the  most  important  officials. 

On  the  broad  square  around  the  Sultan's  court,  which  in 
luxury  and  wealth  reminded  the  faithful  of  paradise,  stood 
courts  less  splendid,  but  e  }aal  to  those  of  kings,  —  those  of 
the  vizir,  the  ulema,  the  pasha  of  Anatolia,  and  of  Kara 
Mustafa,  the  young  kaimakan,  on  whom  the  eyes  of  the 
Sultan  and  all  were  turned  as  upon  the  coming  "sun  of 
war." 

Before  the  tents  of  the  Padishah  were  to  be  seen  the 
sacred  guard  of  infantry,  with  turbans  so  lofty  that  the 
men  wearing  them  seemed  giants.  They  were  armed  with 
javelins  fixed  on  long  staffs,  and  short  crooked  swords. 
Their  linen  dwellings  touched  the  dwellings  of  the  Sultan, 


390  PAN   MICHAEL. 

Farther  on  were  the  camps  of  the  formidable  janissaries 
armed  with  muskets  and  lances,  forming  the  kernel  of  the 
Turkish,  power.  Neither  the  German  emperor  nor  the 
French  king  could  boast  of  infantry  equal  in  number  and 
military  accuracy.  In  wars  with  the  Commonwealth  the 
nations  of  the  Sultan,  more  enervated  in  general,  could  not 
measure  strength  with  cavalry  in  equal  numbers,  and  only 
through  an  immense  numerical  preponderance  did  they 
crush  and  conquer.  But  the  janissaries  dared  to  meet 
even  regular  squadrons  of  cavalry.  They  roused  terror 
in  the  whole  Christian  world,  and  even  in  Tsargrad  itself. 
Frequently  the  Sultan  trembled  before  such  pretorians, 
and  the  chief  aga  of  those  "lambs"  was  one  of  the  most 
important  dignitaries  in  the  Divan. 

After  the  janissaries  came  the  spahis;  after  them  the 
regular  troops  of  the  pashas,  and  farther  on  the  common 
throng.  All  this  camp  had  been  for  a  number  of  months 
near  Constantinople,  waiting  till  its  power  should  be  com- 
pleted by  legions  coming  from  the  remotest  parts  of  the 
Turkish  dominions  'until  the  sun  of  spring  should  lighten 
the  march  to  Lehistau  by  sucking  out  dampness  from  the 
earth. 

The  sun,  as  if  subject  to  the  will  of  the  Sultan,  had  shone 
brightly.  From  the  beginning  of  April  until  May  barely 
a  few  warm  rains  had  moistened  the  meadows  of  Kuchun- 
kaury ;  for  the  rest,  the  blue  tent  of  God  hung  without  a 
cloud  over  the  tent  of  the  Sultan.  The  gleams  of  day 
played  on  the  white  linen,  on  the  turbans,  on  the  many- 
colored  caps,  on  the  points  of  the  helmets  and  banners 
and  javelins,  on  the  camp  and  the  tents  and  the  people 
and  the  herds,  drowning  all  in  a  sea  of  bright  light.  In 
the  evening  on  a  clear  sky  shone  the  moon,  unhidden  by 
fog,  and  guarded  quietly  those  thousands  who  under  its 
emblem  were  marching  to  win  more  and  more  new  lands ; 
then  it  rose  higher  in  the  heaven,  and  grew  pale  before 
the  light  of  the  fires.  But  when  the  fires  were  gleaming 
in  the  whole  immeasurable  expanse,  when  the  Arab  in- 
fantry from  Damascus  and  Aleppo,  called  "massala  djilari," 
lighted  green,  red,  yellow,  and  blue  lamps  at  the  tents  of 
the  Sultan  and  the  vizir,  it  might  seem  that  a  tract  of 
heaven  had  fallen  to  the  earth,  and  that  those  were  stars 
glittering  and  twinkling  on  the  plain. 

Exemplary  order  and  discipline  reigned  among  those 
legions.  The  pashas  bent  to  the  will  of  the  Sultan,  like 


I'AN    MICHAEL.  391 

a  reed  in  a  storm  ;  the  army  bent  before  them.  Food  was 
not  wanting  for  men  and  herds.  Everything  was  furnished 
in  superabundance,  everything  in  season.  In  exemplary 
order  also  were  passed  the  hours  of  military  exercise,  of 
refreshment,  of  devotion.  When  the  muezzins  called  to 
prayer  from  wooden  towers,  built  in  haste,  the  whole  army 
turned  to  the  East,  each  man  stretched  before  himself  a 
skin  or  a  mat,  and  the  entire  army  fell  on  its  knees,  like  one 
man.  At  sight  of  that  order  and  those  restraints  the  hearts 
rose  in  the  throngs,  and  their  souls  were  filled  with  sure  hope 
of  victory. 

The  Sultan,  coming  to  the  camp  at  the  end  of  April,  did 
not  move  at  once  on  the  march.  He  waited  more  than  a 
month,  so  that  the  waters  might  dry  ;  during  that  time  he 
trained  the  army  to  camp  life,  exercised  it,  arranged  it,  re- 
ceived envoys,  and  dispensed  justice  under  a  purple  canopy. 
The  kasseka,  his  chief  wife,  accompanied  him  on  this  expe- 
dition, and  with  her  too  went  a  court  resembling  a  dream 
of  paradise. 

A  gilded  chariot  bore  the  lady  under  a  covering  of  purple 
silk ;  after  it  came  other  wagons  and  white  Syrian  camels, 
also  covered  with  purple,  bearing  packs  ;  houris  and  baya- 
deres sang  songs  to  her  on  the  road.  When,  wearied  with 
the  road,  she  was  closing  the  silky  lashes  of  her  eyes,  the 
sweet  tones  of  soft  instruments  were  heard  at  once,  and 
they  lulled  her  to  sleep.  During  the  heat  of  the  day  fans 
of  peacock  and  ostrich  feathers  waved  above  her ;  priceless 
perfumes  of  the  East  burned  before  her  tents  in  bowls 
from  Hindostan.  She  was  accompanied  by  all  the  treasures, 
wonders,  and  wealth  that  the  Orient  and  the  power  of  the 
Sultan  could  furnish,  —  houris,  bayaderes,  black  eunuchs, 
pages  beautiful  as  angels,  Syrian  camels,  horses  from  the 
desert  of  Arabia;  in  a  word,  a  whole  retinue  was  glitter- 
ing with  brocade,  cloth  of  silver  and  gold ;  it  was  gleam- 
ing like  a  rainbow  from  diamonds,  rubies,  emeralds,  and 
sapphires.  Nations  fell  prostrate  before  it,  not  daring  to 
look  at  that  face,  which  the  Padishah  alone  had  the  right  to 
see ;  and  that  retinue  seemed  to  be  either  a  supernatural 
vision  or  a  reality,  transferred  by  Allah  himself  from  the 
world  of  visions  and  dream-illusions  to  the  earth. 

But  the  sun  warmed  the  world  more  and  more,  and  at  last 
days  of  heat  came.  On  a  certain  evening,  therefore,  the 
banner  was  raised  on  a  lofty  pole  before  the  Sultan's  tent, 
and  a  cannon-shot  informed  the  army  and  the  people  of  the 


392  PAN  MICHAEL. 

march  to  Lehistan.  The  great  sacred  drum  sounded;  all 
the  others  sounded ;  the  shrill  voices  of  pipes  were  heard  ; 
the  pious,  half-naked  dervishes  began  to  howl,  and  the  river 
of  people  moved  on  in  the  night,  to  avoid  the  heat  of  the  sun 
during  daylight.  But  the  army  itself  was  to  march  only 
in  a  number  of  hours  after  the  earliest  signal.  First  of  all 
went  the  tabor,  then  those  pashas  who  provided  food  for 
the  troops,  then  whole  legions  of  handicraftsmen,  who  had 
to  pitch  tents,  then  herds  of  pack  animals,  then  herds 
destined  for  slaughter.  The  march  was  to  last  six  hours 
of  that  night  and  the  following  nights,  and  to  be  made  in 
such  order  that  when  soldiers  came  to  a  halt  they  should 
always  find  food  and  a  resting-place  ready. 

When  the  time  came  at  last  for  the  army  to  move,  the 
Sultan  rode  out  on  an  eminence,  so  as  to  embrace  with  his 
eyes  his  whole  power,  and  rejoice  at  the  sight.  With  him 
were  his  vizir,  the  ulema,  the  young  kaimakan,  Kara  Mus- 
tafa, the  "  rising  sun  of  war,"  and  a  company  of  the  infantry 
guard.  The  night  was  calm  and  clear ;  the  moon  shone 
brightly ;  and  the  Sultan  might  embrace  with  the  eye  all  his 
legions,  were  it  not  that  no  eye  of  man  could  take  them  all 
in  at  once, — for  on  the  march,  though  going  closely  together, 
they  occupied  many  miles. 

Still  he  rejoiced  in  heart,  and  passing  the  beads  of  odor- 
ous sandal-wood  through  his  fingers,  raised  his  eyes  to 
Heaven  in  thanks  to  Allah,  who  had  made  him  lord  of  so 
many  armies  and  so  many  nations.  All  at  once,  when  the 
front  of  the  tabor  had  pushed  almost  out  of  sight,  he  inter- 
rupted his  prayer,  and  turning  to  the  young  kaimakan, 
Kara  Mustafa,  said,  — 

"  I  have  forgotten  who  marches  in  the  vanguard  ?  " 

"  Light  of  paradise  !  "  answered  Kara  Mustafa,  "  in  the 
vanguard  are  the  Lithuanian  Tartars  and  the  Cherernis ;  and 
thy  dog  Azya,  son  of  Tugai  Bey,  is  leading  them." 


MICHAEL. 


CHAPTER  XLVII. 

AZYA,  the  son  of  Tugai  Bey,  after  a  long  halt  on  the  plain 
of  Kuchunkaury,  was  really  marching  with  his  men  at  the 
head  of  all  the  Turkish  forces  toward  the  boundary  of  the 
Commonwealth. 

After  the  grievous  blow  which  his  plans  and  his  person 
had  received  from  the  valiant  hand  of  Basia,  a  fortunate 
star  seemed  to  shine  on  him  anew.  First  of  all,  he  had 
recovered.  His  beauty,  it  is  true,  was  destroyed  forever: 
one  eye  had  trickled  out  altogether,  his  nose  was  mashed, 
and  his  face,  once  like  the  face  of  a  falcon,  had  become 
monstrous  and  terrible.  But  just  that  terror  with  which 
it  filled  people  gave  him  still  more  consideration  among 
the  wild  Tartars  of  the  Dobrudja.  His  arrival  made  a 
great  noise  in  the  whole  camp ;  his  deeds  grew  in  the 
narratives  of  men,  and  became  gigantic.  It  w.as  said  that 
he  had  brought  all  the  Lithuanian  Tartars  and  Cheremis 
into  the  service  of  the  Sultan ;  that  he  had  outwitted  the 
Poles,  as  no  one  had  ever  outwitted  them  ;  that  he  had 
burned  whole  towns  along  the  Dniester,  had  cut  off  their  gar- 
risons, and  had  taken  great  booty.  Those  who  were  to  march 
now  for  the  first  time  to  Lehistan ;  those  who,  coming  from 
distant  corners  of  the  East,  had  not  tried  Polish  arms 
hitherto ;  those  whose  hearts  were  alarmed  at  the  thought 
that  they  would  soon  stand  eye  to  eye  with  the  terrible 
cavalry  of  the  unbeliever,  —  saw  in  the  young  Azya  a  war- 
rior who  had  conquered  them,  and  made  a  fortunate  begin- 
ning of  war.  The  sight  of  the  "  hero  "  filled"  their  hearts 
straightway  with  comfort ;  besides,  as  Azya  was  son  of  the 
terrible  Tugai  Bey,  whose  name  had  thundered  through  the 
Orient,  all  eyes  were  turned  on  him  the  more. 

"  The  Poles  reared  him,"  said  they ;  "  but  he  is  the  son 
of  a  lion;  he  bit  them  and  returned  to  the  Padishah's 
service." 

The  vizir  himself  wished  to  see  him  ;  and  the  "  rising  sun 
of  war,"  the  young  kaimakan,  Kara  Mustafa,  enamoured  of 
military  glory  and  wild  warriors,  fell  in  love  with  him.  Both 


394  PAN  MICHAEL. 

inquired  diligently  of  him  concerning  the  Commonwealth, 
the  hetman,  the  armies,  and  Kamenyets ;  they  rejoiced  at 
his  answers,  seeing  from  them  that  war  would  be  easy ; 
that  to  the  Sultan  it  must  bring  victory,  to  the  Poles  defeat, 
and  to  them  the  title  of  Ghazi  (conqueror).  Hence  Azya 
had  frequent  opportunities  later  to  fall  on  his  face  to  the 
vizir,  to  sit  at  the  threshold  of  the  kaimakan's  tent,  and 
received  from  both  numerous  gifts  in  camels,  horses,  and 
weapons. 

The  grand  vizir  gave  him  a  kaftan  of  silver  brocade,  the 
possession  of  which  raised  him  in  the  eyes  of  all  Lithuanian 
Tartars  and  Cheremis.  Krychinski,  Adurovich,  Moravski, 
Groholski,  Tarasovski,  Aleksandrovich, — in  a  word,  all  those 
captains  who  had  once  dwelt  in  the  Commonwealth  and 
served  it,  but  now  returned  to  the  Sultan,  —  placed  them- 
selves without  a  question  under  the  command  of  Tugai  Bey's 
son,  honoring  in  him  both  the  prince  by  descent  and  the 
warrior  who  had  received  a  kaftan.  He  became,  therefore, 
a  notable  murza ;  and  more  than  two  thousand  warriors, 
incomparably  better  than  the  usual  Tartars,  obeyed  his  nod. 
The  approaching  war,  in  which  it  was  easier  for  the  young 
murza  to  distinguish  himself  than  for  any  one  else,  might 
carry  him  high;  he  might  find  in  it  dignities,  renown, 
power. 

But  still  Azya  bore  poison  in  his  soul.  To  begin  with,  it 
pricked  his  pride  that  the  Tartars,  in  comparison  with  the 
Turks  themselves,  especially  the  janissaries  and  spahis,  had 
little  more  significance  than  dogs  compared  with  hunters. 
He  had  significance  himself,  but  the  Tartars  in  general  were 
considered  worthless  cavalry.  The  Turk  used  them,  at 
times  he  feared  them,  but  in  the  camp  he  despised  them. 
Azya,  noticing  this,  kept  his  men  apart  from  the  general 
Tartar  mass,  as  if  they  formed  a  separate,  a  better  kind  of 
army;  but  with  this  he  brought  on  himself  straightway  the 
indignation  of  the  Dobrudja  and  Belgrod  murzas,  and  was 
not  able  to  convince  various  Turkish  officers  that  the 
Lithuanian  Tartars  were  really  better  in  any  way  than 
chambuls  of  the  horde.  On  the  other  hand,  reared  in  a 
Christian  country,  among  nobles  and  knights,  he  could  not 
inure  himself  to  the  manners  of  the  East.  In  the  Common- 
wealth he  was  only  an  ordinary  officer  and  of  the  last  arm 
of  the  service ;  but  still,  when  meeting  superiors  or  even  the 
hetman,  he  was  not  obliged  to  humble  himself  as  here, 
where  he  was  a  murza  and  the  leader  of  all  the  companies  of 


PAN   MICHAKL.  395 

Lithuanian  Tartars.  Here  he  had  to  fall  on  his  face  before 
the  vizir ;  he  had  to  touch  the  ground  with  his  forehead  in 
the  friendly  tent  of  the  kaiinakan ;  he  had  to  prostrate  him- 
self before  the  pashas,  before  the  ulema,  before  the  chief 
aga  of  the  janissaries.  Azya  was  not  accustomed  to  this. 
He  remembered  that  he  was  the  son  of  a  hero ;  he  had  a  wild 
soul  full  of  pride,  aiming  high,  as  eagles  aim  ;  hence  he 
suffered  sorely. 

But  the  recollection  of  Basia  burned  him  with  fire  most 
of  all.  He  cared  not  that  one  weak  hand  had  hurled  from 
his  horse  him  who  at  Bratslav,  at  Kalnik,  and  a  hundred 
other  places  had  challenged  to  combat  and  stretched  in 
death  the  most  terrible  skirmishers  of  the  Zaporojia;  he 
cared  not  for  the  shame,  the  disgrace  !  But  he  loved  that 
woman  beyond  measure  and  thought;  he  wanted  her  in  his 
tent,  to  look  at  her,  to  beat  her,  to  kiss  her.  If  it  were  in 
his  choice  to  be  Padishah  and  rule  half  the  world,  or  to  take 
her  in  his  arms,  feel  with  his  heart  the  warmth  of  her  blood, 
the  breath  of  her  face,  her  lips  with  his  lips,  he  would  prefer 
her  to  Tsargrad,  to  the  Bosphorus,  to  the  title  of  Khalif. 
He  wanted  her  because  he  loved  her;  he  wanted  her  because 
he  hated  her.  The  more  she  was  foreign  to  him,  the  more 
he  wanted  her ;  the  more  she  was  pure,  faithful,  untainted, 
the  more  he  wanted  her.  More  than  once  when  he  remem- 
bered in  his  tent  that  he  had  kissed  those  eyes  one  time  in 
his  life,  in  the  ravine  after  the  battle  with  Azba  Bey,  and 
that  at  Rashkoff  he  had  felt  her  breast  on  his,  the  madness 
of  desire  carried  him  away.  '  He  knew  not  what  had  become 
of  her,  whether  she  had  perished  on  the  road  or  not.  At 
times  he  found  solace  in  the  thought  that  she  had  died.  At 
times  he  thought,  "  It  had  been  better  not  to  carry  her 
away,  not  to  burn  Rashkoff,  not  to  come  to  the  service 
of  the  Sultan,  but  to  stay  in  Hreptyoff,  and  even  look 
at  her." 

But  the  unfortunate  Zosia  Boski  was  in  his  tent.  Her 
life  passed  in  low  service,  in  shame  and  continual  terror, 
for  in  Azya's  heart  there  was  not  a  drop  of  pity  for  her. 
He  simply  tormented  her  because  she  was  not  Basia.  She 
had,  however,  the  sweetness  and  charm  of  a  field  flower; 
she  had  youth  and  beauty  :  therefore  he  sated  himself  with 
that  beauty ;  but  he  kicked  her  for  any  cause,  or  flogged  her 
white  body  with  rods.  In  a  worse  hell  she  could  not  be,  for 
she  lived  without  hope.  Her  life  had  begun  to  bloom  in 
Rashkoff,  to  bloom  like  spring  with  the  flower  of  love  for 


39(5  PAN  MICHAEL. 

Pan  Adam.  She  loved  him  with  her  whole  soul ;  she  loved 
that  knightly,  noble,  and  honest  nature  with  all  her  faculties ; 
and  now  she  was  the  plaything  and  the  captive  of  that  one- 
eyed  monster.  She  had  to  cra\tfl  at  his  feet  and  tremble 
like  a  beaten  dog,  look  into  his  face,  look  at  his  hands  to  see 
if  they  were  not  about  to  seize  a  club  or  a  whip ;  she  had 
to  hold  back  her  breath  and  her  tears. 

She  knew  well  that  there  was  not  and  could  not  be  mercy 
for  her ;  for  though  a  miracle  were  to  wrest  her  from  those 
terrible  hands,  she  was  no  longer  that  former  Zosia,  white 
as  the  first  snows,  and  able  to  repay  love  with  a  clean 
heart.  All  that  had  passed  beyond  recovery.  But  since 
the  dreadful  disgrace  in  which  she  was  living  was  not 
due  to  the  least  fault  of  hers,  —  on  the  contrary,  she  had 
been  hitherto  a  maiden  stainless  as  a  lamb,  innocent  as  a 
dove,  trusting  as  a  child,  simple,  loving,  —  she  did  not 
understand  why  this  fearful  injustice  was  wrought  on  her, 
an  injustice  which  could  not  be  recompensed ;  why  such 
inexorable  anger  of  God  was  weighing  upon  her;  and  this 
mental  discord  increased  her  pain,  her  despair.  And  so 
days,  weeks,  and  months  passed.  Azya  came  to  the  plain 
of  Kuchunkaury  in  winter,  and  the  march  to  the  boundary 
of  the  Commonwealth  began  only  in  June.  All  this  time 
passed  for  Zosia  in  shame,  in  torment,  in  toil.  For  Azya, 
in  spite  of  her  beauty  and  sweetness,  and  though  he  kept 
her  in  his  tent,  not  only  did  not  love  her,  but  rather  he 
hated  her  because  she  was  not  Basia.  He  looked  on  her  as 
a  common  captive ;  therefore  she  had  to  work  like  a  captive. 
She  watered  his  horses  and  camels  from  the  river  j  she 
carried  water  for  his  ablutions,  wood  for  the  fire ;  she 
spread  the  skins  for  his  bed ;  she  cooked  his  food.  In  other 
divisions  of  the  Turkish  armies  women  did  not  go  out  of 
the  tents  through  fear  of  the  janissaries,  or  through  cus- 
tom ;  but  the  camp  of  the  Lithuanian  Tartars  stood  apart, 
and  the  custom  of  hiding  women  was  not  common  among 
them,  for  having  lived  formerly  in  the  Commonwealth,  they 
had  grown  used  to  something  different.  The  captives  of 
common  soldiers,  in  so  far  as  soldiers  had  captives,  did 
not  even  cover  their  faces  with  veils.  It  is  true  that 
women  were  not  free  to  go  beyond  the  boundaries  of  the 
square,  for  beyond  those  boundaries  they  would  have  been 
carried  off  surely ;  but  on  the  square  itself  they  could  go 
everywhere  safely,  and  occupy  themselves  with  camp 
housekeeping. 


PAN  MICHAEL.  397 

Notwithstanding  the  heavy  toil,  there  was  for  Zosia  even 
a  certain  solace  in  going  for  wood,  or  to  the  river  to  water 
the  horses  and  camels ;  for  she  feared  to  cry  in  the  tent,  and 
on  the  road  she  could  give  vent  to  her  tears  with  impunity. 
Once,  while  going  with  arms  full  of  wood,  she  met  her 
mother,  whom  Azya  had  given  to  Halim.  They  fell  into 
each  other's  arms,  and  it  was  necessary  to  pull  them  apart ; 
and  though  Azya  flogged  Zosia  afterward,  not  sparing  even 
blows  of  rods  on  her  head,  still  the  meeting  was  dear  to  her. 
Another  time,  while  washing  handkerchiefs  and  foot-cloths 
for  Azya  at  the  ford,  Zosia  saw  Eva  at  a  distance  going  with 
pails  of  water.  Eva  was  groaning  under  the  weight  of  the 
pails ;  her  form  had  changed  greatly  and  grown  heavier, 
but  her  features,  though  shaded  with  a  veil,  reminded  Zosia 
of  Adam,  and  such  pain  seized  her  heart  that  conscious- 
ness left  her  for  the  moment.  Still,  they  did  not  speak  to 
each  other  from  fear. 

That  fear  stifled  and  mastered  gradually  all  Zosia's 
feelings,  till  at  last  it  stood  alone  in  place  of  her  desires, 
hopes,  and  memory.  Not  to  be  beaten  had  become  for  her 
an  object.  Basia  in  her  place  would  have  killed  Azya  with 
his  own  knife  on  the  first  day,  without  thinking  of  what 
might  come  afterwards ;  but  the  timid  Zosia,  half  a  child 
yet,  had  not  Basia's  daring.  And  it  came  at  last  to  this, 
that  she  considered  it  fondness  if  the  terrible  Azya,  under 
the  influence  of  momentary  desire,  put  his  deformed  face 
near  her  lips.  Sitting  in  the  tent,  she  did  not  take  her 
eyes  from  him,  wishing  to  learn  whether  he  was  angry 
or  not,  following  his  movements,  striving  to  divine  his 
wishes. 

When  she  foresaw  evil,  and  when  from  under  his 
mustaches,  as  in  the  case  of  Tugai  Bey,  the  teeth  began  to 
glitter,  she  crept  to  his  feet  almost  senseless  from  terror, 
pressed  her  pale  lips  to  them,  embracing  convulsively  his 
knees  and  crying  like  an  afflicted  child,  — 

"Do  not  beat  me,  Azya!  forgive  me  ;  do  not  beat !  " 

He  forgave  her  almost  never ;  he  gloated  over  her,  not  only 
because  she  was  not  Basia,  but  because  she  had  been  the 
betrothed  of  Novoveski.  Azya  had  a  fearless  soul ;  yet  so 
awful  were  the  accounts  between  him  and  Pan  Adam  that 
at  thought  of  that  giant,  with  vengeance  hardened  in  his 
heart,  a  certain  disquiet  seized  the  young  Tartar.  There 
was  to  be  war ;  they  might  meet,  and  it  was  likely  that  they 
would  meet.  Azya  was  not  able  to  avoid  thinking  of  this ; 


398  PAN  MICHAEL. 

and  because  these  thoughts  came  to  him  at  sight  of  Zosia, 
he  took  vengeance  on  her,  as  if  he  wished  to  drive  away  his 
own  alarm  with  blows  of  rods. 

At  last  the  time  came  when  the  Sultan  gave  command  to 
march.  Azya's  men  were  to  move  in  the  vanguard,  and 
after  them  the  whole  legion  of  Dobrudja  and  Belgrod 
Tartars.  That  was  arranged  between  the  Sultan,  the  vizir, 
and  the  kaimakan.  But  in  the  beginning  all  went  to  the 
Balkans  together.  The  march  was  comfortable,  for  by 
reason  of  the  heat  which  was  setting  in,  they  inarched  only 
in  the  night,  six  hours  from  one  resting-place  to  the  other. 
Tar-barrels  were  burning  along  their  road,  and  the  massala 
djirali  lighted  the  way  for  the  Sultan  with  colored  lights. 
The  swarms  of  people  flowed  on  like  a  river,  through 
boundless  plains ;  filled  the  depressions  of  valleys  like 
locusts,  covered  the  mountains.  After  the  armed  men  went 
the  tabors,  in  them  the  harems ;  after  the  tabors  herds 
without  number. 

But  in  the  swamps  at  the  foot  of  the  Balkans  the  gilded 
and  purple  chariot  of  the  kasseka  was  mired  so  that  twelve 
buffaloes  were  unable  to  draw  it  from  the  mud.  "  That  is 
an  evil  omen,  lord,  for  thee  and  for  the  whole  army,"  said 
the  chief  mufti  to  the  Sultan.  "An  evil  omen,"  repeated 
the  half-mad  dervishes  in  the  camp.  The  Sultan  was 
alarmed,  and  decided  to  send  all  women  out  of  the  camp 
with  the  marvellous  kasseka. 

The  command  was  announced  to  the  armies.  Those  of 
the  soldiers  who  had  no  place  to  which  they  might  send 
captives,  and  from  love  did  not  wish  to  sell  them  to 
strangers,  preferred  to  kill  them.  Merchants  of  the  caravan- 
serai bought  others  by  the  thousand,  to  sell  them  afterward 
in  the  markets  of  Stambul  and  all  the  places  of  nearer  Asia. 
A  great  fair,  as  it  were,  lasted  for  three  days.  Azya  offered 
Zosia  for  sale  without  hesitation ;  an  old  Stambul  merchant, 
a  rich  person,  bought  her  for  his  son. 

He  was  a  kindly  man,  for  at  Zosia's  entreaties  and  tears 
he  bought  her  mother  from  Halim ;  it  is  true  that  he  got 
her  for  a  trifle.  The  next  day  both  wandered  on  toward 
Stambul,  in  a  line  with  other  women.  In  Stambul  Zosia's 
lot  was  improved,  without  ceasing  to  be  shameful.  Her 
new  owner  loved  her,  and  after  a  few  months  he  raised 
her  to  the  dignity  of  wife.  Her  mother  did  not  part 
from  her. 

Many  people,  among  them  many  women,  even  after  a  long 


PAN  MICHAEL.  399 

time  of  captivity,  returned  to  their  country.  There  was 
also  some  person,  who  by  all  means,  through  Armenians, 
Greek  merchants,  and  servants  of  envoys  from  the  Common- 
wealth, sought  Zosia  too,  but  without  result.  Then  these 
searches  were  interrupted  on  a  sudden;  and  Zosia  never  saw 
her  native  land,  nor  the  faces  of  those  who  were  dear  to  her. 
She  lived  till  her  death  in  a  harem. 


400  JPAN  MICHAEL. 


CHAPTER   XLVIII. 

EVEN"  before  the  Turks  marched  from  Adrianople,  a  great 
movement  had  begun  in  all  the  stanitsas  on  the  Dniester. 
To  Hreptyoff,  the  stanitsa  nearest  to  Kamenyets,  couriers 
of  the  hetrnan  were  hastening  continually,  bringing  vari- 
ous orders ;  these  the  little  knight  executed  himself,  or-  if 
they  did  not  relate  to  him,  he  forwarded  them  through 
trusty  people.  In  consequence  of  these  orders  the  garrison 
of  Hreptyoff  was  reduced  notably.  Pan  Motovidlo  went 
with  his  Cossacks  to  Uman  to  aid  Hanenko,  who,  with  a 
handful  of  Cossacks  faithful  to  the  Commonwealth,  strug- 
gled as  best  he  could  with  Doroshenko  and  the  Crimean 
horde  which  had  joined  him.  Pan  Mushalski,  the  incom- 
parable bowman,  Pan  Snitko  of  the  escutcheon  Hidden 
Moon,  Pan  Nyenashinyets,  and  Pan  Hromyka,  led  a  squad- 
ron and  Linkhauz's  dragoons  to  Batog  of  unhappy  memory, 
where  was  stationed  Pan  Lujetski,  who,  aided  by  Hanenko, 
was  to  watch  Dorosheiiko's  movements ;  Pan  Bogush  received 
an  order  to  remain  in  Mohiloff  till  he  could  see  chambuls 
with  the  naked  eye.  The  instructions  of  the  hetman  were 
seeking  eagerly  the  famous  Pan  Rushchyts,  whom  Volody- 
ovski  alone  surpassed  as  a  partisan ;  but  Pan  Rushchyts 
had  gone  to  the  steppes  at  the  head  of  a  few  tens  of  men, 
and  vanished  as  if  in  water.  They  heard  of  him  only  later, 
when  wonderful  tidings  were  spread,  that  around  Doro- 
shenko's  tabor  and  the  companies  of  the  horde  an  evil  spirit, 
as  it  were,  was  hovering,  which  carried  away  daily  single 
warriors  and  smaller  companies.  It  was  suspected  that 
this  must  be  Pan  Rushchyts,  for  no  other  except  the  little 
knight  could  attack  in  that  manner.  In  fact,  it  was  Pan 
Rushchyts. 

As  decided  before,  Pan  Michael  had  to  go  to  Kamen- 
yets ;  the  hetman  needed  him  there,  for  he  knew  him 
to  be  a  soldier  whose  coming  would  comfort  the  hearts, 
while  it  roused  the  courage,  of  the  inhabitants  and  the 
garrison.  The  hetman  was  convinced  that  Kamenyets 
would  not  hold  out ;  with  him  the  question  was  simply  that 
it  should  hold  out  as  long  as  possible,  —  that  is,  till  the 


PAN   MICHAEL.  401 

Commonwealth  could  assemble  some  forces  for  defence.  In 
this  conviction  he  sent  to  evident  death,  as  it  were,  his 
favorite  soldier,  the  most  renowned  cavalier  of  the  Common- 
wealth. 

He  sent  the  most  renowned  warrior  to  death,  and  he  did 
not  grieve  for  him.  The  hetman  thought  always,  what  he 
said  later  on  at  Vienna,  that  Pani  Wojnina1  might  give 
birth  to  people,  but  that  Wojna  (war)  only  killed  them. 
He  was  ready  himself  to  die ;  he  thought  that  to  die  was  the 
most  direct  duty  of  a  soldier,  and  that  when  a  soldier 
could  render  famous  service  by  dying,  death  was  to  him  a 
great  reward  and  favor.  The  hetman  knew  also  that  the 
little  knight  was  of  one  conviction  with  himself. 

Besides,  he  had  no  time  to  think  of  sparing  single  soldiers 
when  destruction  was  advancing  on  churches,  towns,  the 
country,  the  whole  Commonwealth ;  when,  with  forces 
unheard  of,  the  Orient  was  rising  against  Europe  to  conquer 
all  Christendom,  which,  shielded  by  the  breast  of  the 
Commonwealth,  had  no  thought  of  helping  that  Common- 
wealth. The  only  question  possible  for  the  hetman  was 
that  Kamenyets  should  cover  the  Commonwealth,  and  then 
the  Commonwealth  the  remainder  of  Christendom. 

This  might  have  happened  had  the  Commonwealth  been 
strong,  had  disorder  not  exhausted  it.  But  the  hetman  had 
not  troops  enough  even  for  reconnoissances,  not  to  mention 
war.  If  he  hurried  some  tens  of  soldiers  to  one  place,  there 
was  an  opening  made  in  another,  through  which  an  invading 
wave  might  pour  in  without  obstacle.  The  detachments  of 
sentries  posted  by  the  Sultan  at  night  in  his  camp  out- 
numbered the  squadrons  of  the  hetman.  The  invasion 
moved  from  two  directions,  —  from  the  Dnieper  and  the 
Danube.  Because  Doroshenko,  with  the  whole  horde  of  the 
Crimea,  was  nearer,  and  had  inundated  the  country  already, 
burning  and  slaying,  the  chief  squadrons  had  gone  against 
him ;  on  the  other  hand,  people  were  lacking  for  simple 
reconnoissances.  While  in  such  dire  straits  the  hetman 
wrote  the  following  few  words  to  Pan  Michael,  — 

"  I  did  think  to  send  you  to  Rashkoff  near  the  enemy,  but  grew 
afraid,  because  the  horde,  crossing  by  seven  fords  from  the  Moldavian 
bank,  will  occupy  the  country,  and  you  could  not  reach  Kamenyets, 
where  there  is  absolute  need  of  you.  Only  yesterday  I  remembered 
Novoveski,  who  is  a  trained  soldier  and  daring,  and  because  a  man 

1  See  note  after  introduction. 

M 


402  PAN  MICHAEL. 

in  despair  is  ready  for  everything,  I  think  that  he  will  serve  me 
effectively.  Send  him  whatever  light  cavalry  you  can  spare  ;  let  him 
go  as  far  as  possible,  show  himself  everywhere,  and  give  out  reports 
of  our  great  forces,  when  before  the  eyes  of  the  enemy ;  let  him 
appear  here  and  there  suddenly,  and  not  let  himself  be  captured.  It 
is  known  how  they  will  come ;  but  if  he  sees  anything  new,  he  is  to 
inform  you  at  once,  and  you  will  hurry  off  without  delay  an  informant 
to  me,  and  to  Kamenyets.  Let  Novoveski  move  quickly,  and  be  you 
ready  to  go  to  Kamenyets,  but  wait  where  you  are  till  news  comes 
from  Novoveski  in  Moldavia." 

Since  Pan  Adam  was  living  at  Mohiloff  for  the  time,  and, 
as  report  ran,  was  to  come  to  Hreptyoff  in  any  case,  the 
little  knight  merely  sent  word  to  him  to  hasten,  because  a 
commission  from  the  hetman  was  waiting  for  him. 

Pan  Adam  came  three  days  later.  His  acquaintances 
hardly  kne'w  him,  and  thought  that  Pan  Byaloglovski  had 
good  reason  to  call  him  a  skeleton.  He  was  no  longer  that 
splendid  fellow,  high-spirited,  joyous,  who  on  a  time  used 
to  rush  at  the  enemy  with  outbursts  of  laughter,  like  the 
neighing  of  a  horse,  and  gave  blows  with  just  such  a  sweep 
as  is  given  by  the  arm  of  a  windmill.  He  had  grown  lean, 
sallow,  dark,  but  in  that  leanness  he  seemed  a  still  greater 
giant.  While  looking  at  people,  he  blinked  as  if  not 
recognizing  his  nearest  acquaintances ;  it  was  needful  also 
to  repeat  the  same  thing  two  or  three  times  to  him,  for  he 
seemed  not  to  understand  at  first.  Apparently  grief  was 
flowing  in  his  veins  instead  of  blood ;  evidently  he  strove 
not  to  think  of  certain  things,  preferring  to  forget  them,  so 
as  not  to  run  mad. 

It  is  true  that  in  those  regions  there  was  not  a  man,  not  a 
family,  not  an  officer  of  the  army,  who  had  not  suffered  evil 
from  Pagan  hands,  who  was  not  bewailing  some  acquaint- 
ance, friend,  near  and  dear  one ;  but  on  Pan  Adam  there  had 
burst  simply  a  whole  cloud  of  misfortunes.  In  one  day  he 
had  lost  father  and  sister,  and  besides,  his  betrothed,  whom 
he  loved  with  all  the  power  of  his  exuberant  spirit.  He 
would  rather  that  his  sister  and  that  dearly  beloved  girl 
had  both  died ;  he  would  rather  they  had  perished  from  the 
knife  or  in  flames.  But  their  fate  was  such  that  in  com- 
parison with  the  thought  of  them  the  greatest  torment  was 
nothing  for  Pan  Adam.  He  strove  not  to  think  of  their 
fate,  for  he  felt  that  thinking  of  it  bordered  on  insanity ;  he 
strove,  but  he  failed. 

In  truth,  his  calmness  was  only  apparent.     There  was  no 


PAN  MICHAEL.  403 

resignation  whatever  in  his  soul,  and  at  the  first  glance  it 
was  evident  to  any  man  that  under  the  torpor  there  was 
something  ominous  and  terrible,  and,  should  it  break 
forth,  that  giant  would  do  something  awful,  just  as  a  wild 
element  would.  That  was  as  if  written  on  his  forehead 
explicitly,  so  that  even  his  friends  approached  him  with  a 
certain  timidity ;  in  talking  with  him,  they  avoided  reference 
to  the  past. 

The  sight  of  Basia  in  Hreptyoff  opened  closed  wounds  in 
him,  for  while  kissing  her  hands  in  greeting,  he  began  to 
groan  like  an  aurochs  that  is  mortally  wounded,  his  eyes 
became  bloodshot,  and  the  veins  in  his  neck  swelled  to  the 
size  of  cords.  When  Basia,  in  tears  and  affectionate  as  a 
mother,  pressed  his  head  with  her  hands,  he  fell  at  her  feet, 
and  could  not  rise  for  a  long  time.  But  when  he  heard 
what  kind  of  office  the  hetman  had  given  him,  he  became 
greatly  enlivened ;  a  gleam  of  ominous  joy  flashed  up  in  his 
face,  and  he  said,  — 

"  I  will  do  that,  I  will  do  more  ! " 

"  And  if  you  meet  that  mad  dog,  give  him  a  skinning ! " 
put  in  Zagloba. 

Pan  Adam  did  not  answer  at  once ;  he  only  looked  at 
Zagloba ;  sudden  bewilderment  shone  in  his  eyes ;  he  rose 
and  began  to  go  toward  the  old  noble,  as  if  he  wished  to 
rush  at  him. 

"  Do  you  believe,"  said  he,  "  that  I  have  never  done  evil 
to  that  man,  and  that  I  have  always  been  kind  to  him  ?  " 

"  I  believe,  I  believe  !  "  said  Zagloba,  pushing  behind  the 
little  knight  hurriedly.  "  I  would  go  myself  with  you,  but 
the  gout  bites  my  feet." 

"Novoveski,"  asked  the  little  knight,  "  when  do  you  wish 
to  start  ?  " 

"  To-night." 

"  I  will  give  you  a  hundred  dragoons.  I  will  remain  here 
myself  with  another  hundred  and  the  infantry.  Go  to  the 
square  !  " 

They  went  out  to  give  orders.  Zydor  Lusnia  was  waiting 
at  the  threshold,  straightened  out  like  a  string.  News  of 
the  expedition  had  spread  already  through  the  square  ;  the 
sergeant  therefore,  in  his  own  name  and  the  name  of  his 
company,  began  to  beg  the  little  colonel  to  let  him  go  with 
Pan  Adam. 

,     "  How  is  this  ?     Do  you  want  to  leave  me  ?  "  asked  the 
astonished  Volodyovski. 


404  PAN  MICHAEL. 

"Pan  Commandant,  we  made  a  vow  against  that  son  of  a 
such  a  one  ;  and  perhaps  he  may  come  into  our  hands." 

"  True  !  Pan  Zagloba  has  told  me  of  that/'  answered  the 
little  knight. 

Lusnia  turned  to  Novoveski,  — 

"  Pan  Commandant !  " 

"  What  is  your  wish  ?  " 

"  If  we  get  him,  may  I  take  care  of  him  ?  " 

Such  a  tierce,  beastly  venom  was  depicted  on  the  face  of 
the  Mazovian  that  Novoveski  inclined  at  once  to  Volodyov- 
ski,  and  said  entreatingly,  — 

"  Your  grace,  let  me  have  this  man  ! " 

Pan  Michael  did  not  think  of  refusing;  and  that  same 
evening,  about  dusk,  a  hundred  horsemen,  with  Novoveski 
at  their  head,  set  out  on  the  journey. 

They  marched  by  the  usual  road  through  Mohiloff  and 
Yampol.  In  Yampol  they  met  the  former  garrison  of 
Kashkoff,  from  which  two  hundred  men  joined  Kovoveski  by 
order  of  the  hetman  ;  the  rest,  under  command  of  Pan  Byalo- 
glovski,  were  to  go  to  Mohiloff,  where  Pan  Bogush  was 
stationed.  Pan  Adam  marched  to  Kashkoff. 

The  environs  of  Rashkoff  were  a  thorough  waste  ;  the 
town  itself  had  been  turned  into  a  pile  of  ashes,  which  the 
winds  had  blown  to  the  four  sides  of  the  world ;  its  scant 
number  of  inhabitants  had  fled  before  the  expected  storm. 
It  was  already  the  beginning  of  May,  and  the  Dobrudja 
horde  might  show  itself  at  any  time ;  therefore  it  was  unsafe 
to  remain  in  those  regions.  In  fact,  the  hordes  were 
with  the  Turks,  on  the  plain  of  Kuchunkaury ;  but  men 
around  Kashkoff  had  no  knowledge  of  that,  therefore  every 
one  of  the  former  inhabitants,  who  had  escaped  the  last 
slaughter,  carried  off  his  head  in  good  season  whithersoever 
seemed  best  to  him. 

Along  the  road  Lusnia  was  framing  plans  and  stratagems, 
which  in  his  opinion  Pan  Adam  should  adopt  if  he  wished 
to  outwit  the  enemy  in  fact  and  successfully.  He  detailed 
these  ideas  to  the  soldiers  with  graciousness. 

"  You  know  nothing  of  this  matter,  horse-skulls,"  said  he  ; 
"  but  I  am  old,  I  know.  We  will  go  to  Kashkoff ;  we  will 
hide  there  and  wait.  The  horde  will  come  to  the  crossing ; 
small  parties  will  cross  first,  as  is  their  custom,  because  the 
chambul  stops  and  waits  till  they  tell  if 't  is  safe ;  then  we 
will  slip  out  and  drive  them  before  us  to  Kamenyets." 

"But  in  this  way  we  may  not  get  that  dog  brother," 
remarked  one  of  the  men  in  the  ranks. 


PAN  MICHAEL.  405 

"  Shut  your  mouth! "  said  Lusnia.  "  Who  will  go  in  the 
vanguard  if  not  the  Lithuanian  Tartars  ?  " 

In  fact,  the  previsions  of  the  sergeant  seemed  to  be  com- 
ing true.  When  he  reached  Rashkoff  Pan  Adam  gave  the 
soldiers  rest.  All  felt  certain  that  they  would  go  next  to 
the  caves,  of  which  there  were  many  in  the  neighborhood, 
and  hide  there  till  the  first  parties  of  the  enemy  appeared. 
But  the  second  day  of  their  stay  the  commandant  brought 
the  squadron  to  its  feet,  and  led  it  beyond  Rashkoff. 

"  Are  we  going  to  Yagorlik,  or  what  ?  "  asked  the  sergeant 
in  his  mind. 

Meanwhile  they  approached  the  river  just  beyond  Rash- 
koff, and  a  few  "  Our  Fathers  "  later  they  halted  at  the  so- 
called  "  Bloody  Ford."  Pan  Adam,  without  saying  a  word, 
urged  his  horse  into  the  water  and  began  to  cross  to  the 
opposite  bank.  The  soldiers  looked  at  one  another  with 
astonishment. 

"  How  is  this,  —  are  we  going  to  the  Turks  ?  "  asked  one  of 
another.  But  these  were  not  "  gracious  gentlemen  "  of  the 
general  militia,  ready  to  summon  a  meeting  and  protest, 
they  were  simple  soldiers  inured  to  the  iron  discipline  of 
stanitsas  phence  the  men  of  the  first  rank  urged  their  horses 
into  the  water  after  the  commandant,  and  then  those  in  the 
second?and  third  did  the  same.  There  was  not  the  least 
hesitation.  They  were  astonished  that,  with  three  hundred 
horse,  they  were  marching  against  the  Turkish  power, 
which  the  whole  world  could  not  conquer;  but  they  went. 
Soon  the  water  was  plashing  around  the  horses'  sides ;  the 
men  ceased  to  wonder  then,  and  were  thinking  simply  of 
this,  that  the  sacks  of  food  for  themselves  and  the  horses 
should  not  get  wet.  Only  on  the  other  bank  did  they  begin 
to  look  at  one  another  again. 

"  For  God's  sake,  we  are  in  Moldavia  already  ! "  said  they, 
in  quiet  whispers. 

And  one  or  another  looked  behind,  beyond  the  Dniester, 
which  glittered  in  the  setting  sun  like  a  red  and  golden 
ribbon.  The  river  cliffs,  full  of  caves,  were  bathed  also  in 
the  bright  gleams.  They  rose  like  a  wall,  which  at  that 
moment  divided  that  handful  of  men  from  their  country. 
For  many  of  them  it  was  indeed  the  last  parting. 

The  thought  went  through  Lusnia's  head  that  maybe  the 
commandant  had  gone  mad ;  but  it  was  the  commandant's 
affair  to  command,  his  to  obey. 

Meanwhile  the  horses,  issuing  from  the  water,  began  to 


406  PAN  MICHAEL. 

snort  terribly  in  the  ranks.  "  Good  health  !  good  health  !  '* 
was  heard  from  the  soldiers.  They  considered  the  snorting 
of  good  omen,  and  a  certain  consolation  entered  their  hearts. 

"  Move  on  ! "  commanded  Pan  Adam. 

The  ranks  moved,  and  they  went  toward  the  setting  sun 
and  toward  those  thousands,  to  that  swarm  of  people,  to 
those  nations  gathered  at  Kuchunkaury. 


PAN  MICHAEL.  407 


CHAPTER  XLIX. 

PAN  ADAM'S  passage  of  the  Dniester,  and  his  march  with 
three  hundred  sabres. against  the  power  of  the  Sultan,  which 
numbered  hundreds  of  thousands  of  warriors,  were  deeds 
which  a  man  unacquainted  with  war  might  consider  pure 
madness ;  but  they  were  only-  bold,  daring  deeds  of  war, 
having  chances  of  success. 

To  begin  with,  raiders  of  those  days  went  frequently 
.against  chambuls  a  hundred  times  superior  in  numbers ; 
they  stood  before  the  eyes  of  the  enemy,  and  then  vanished, 
cutting  down  pursuers  savagely.  Just  as  a  wolf  entices 
dogs  after  him  at  times,  to  turn  at  the  right  moment  and 
kill  the  dog  pushing  forward  most  daringly,  so  did  they.  In 
the  twinkle  of  an  eye  the  beast  became  the  hunter,  started, 
hid,  waited,  but  though  pursued,  hunted  too,  attacked  unex- 
pectedly, and  bit  to  death.  That  was  the  so-called  "  method 
with  Tartars,"  in  which  each  side  vied  with  the  other  in 
stratagems,  tricks,  and  ambushes.  The  most  famous  man 
in  this  method  was  Pan  Michael,  next  to  him  Pan 
Rushchyts,  then  Pan  Pivo,  then  Pan  Motovidlo ;  but 
Novoveski,  practising  from  boyhood  in  the  steppes,  be- 
longed to  those  who  were  mentioned  among  the  most 
famous,  hence  it  was  very  likely  that  when  he  stood 
before  the  horde  he  would  not  let  himself  be  taken. 

The  expedition  had  chances  of  success  too,  for  the  reason 
that  beyond  the  Dniester  there  were  wild  regions  in  which 
it  was  easy  to  hide.  Only  here  and  there,  along  the  rivers, 
did  settlements  show  themselves,  and  in  general  the  country 
was  little  inhabited;  nearer  the  Dniester  it  was  rocky 
and  hilly ;  farther  on  there  were  steppes,  or  the  land  was 
covered  with  forests,  in  which  numerous  herds  of  beasts 
wandered,  from  buffaloes,  run  wild,  to  deer  and  wild  boars. 
Since  the  Sultan  wished  before  the  expedition  "  to  feel  his 
power  and  calculate  his  forces,"  the  hordes  dwelling  on  the 
lower  Dniester,  those  of  Belgrod,  and  still  farther  those  of 
Dobrudja,  marched  at  command  of  the  Padishah  to  the  south 
of  the  Balkans,  and  after  them  followed  the  Karalash  of 
Moldavia,  so  that  the  country  had  become  still  more 


408  PAN  MICHAEL. 

deserted,  and  it  was  possible  to  travel  whole  weeks  without 
being  seen  by  any  person. 

Pan  Adam  knew  Tartar  customs  too  well  not  to  know 
that  when  the  chambuls  had  once  passed  the  boundary  of 
the  Commonwealth  they  would  move  more  warily,  keep- 
ing diligent  watch  on  all  sides ;  but  there  in  their  own 
country  they  would  go  in  broad  columns  without  any  pre- 
caution. And  they  did  so,  in  fact;  there  seemed  to  the 
Tartars  a  greater  chance  to  meet  death  than  to  meet  in  the 
heart  of  Bessarabia,  on  the  very  Tartar  boundary,  the  troops 
of  that  Commonwealth  which  had  not  men  enough  to 
defend  its  own  borders. 

Pan  Adam  was  confident  that  his  expedition  would  aston- 
ish the  enemy  first  of  all,  and  hence  do  more  good  than  the 
hetman  had  hoped ;  secondly,  that  it  might  be  destructive 
to  Azya  and  his  men.  It  was  easy  for  the  young  lieutenant 
to  divine  that  they,  since  they  knew  the  Commonwealth 
thoroughly,  would  march  in  the  vanguard,  and  he  placed  his 
main  hope  in  that  certainty.  To  fall  unexpectedly  on  Azya 
and  seize  him,  to  rescue  perhaps  his  sister  and  Zosia,  to 
snatch  them  from  captivity,  accomplish  his  vengeance,  and 
then  perish  in  war,  was  all  that  the  distracted  soul  of 
Novoveski  wished  for. 

Under  the  influence  of  these  thoughts  and  hopes,  Pan 
Adam  freed  himself  from  torpor,  and  revived.  His  inarch 
along  unknown  ways,  arduous  labor,  the  sweeping  wind 
of  the  steppes,  and  the  dangers  of  the  bold  undertaking 
increased  his  health,  and  brought  back  his  former  strength. 
The  warrior  began  to  overcome  in  him  the  man  of  misfor- 
tune. Before  that,  there  had  been  no  place  in  him  for  any- 
thing except  memories  and  suffering ;  now  he  had  to  think 
whole  days  of  how  he  was  to  deceive  and  attack. 

After  they  had  passed  the  Dniester  the  Poles  went  on  a 
diagonal,  and  down  toward  the  Pruth.  In  the  day  they  hid 
frequently  in  forests  and  reeds ;  in  the  night  they  made 
secret  and  hurried  marches.  So  far  the  country  was  not 
much  inhabited,  and,  occupied  mainly  by  nomads,  was  empty 
for  the  greater  part.  Very  rarely  did  they  come  upon  fields 
of  maize,  and  near  them  houses. 

Marching  secretly,  they  strove  to  avoid  larger  settlements, 
but  often  they  stopped  at  smaller  ones  composed  of  one, 
two,  three,  or  even  a  number  of  cottages  ;  these  they  entered 
boldly,  knowing  that  none  of  the  inhabitants  would  think  of 
fleeing  before  them  to  Budjyak,  and  forewarning  the  Tartars. 


PAN   MICHAEL.  400 

Lusnia,  however,  took  care  that  this  should  not  happen ;  but 
soon  he  omitted  the  precaution,  for  he  convinced  himself 
that  those  few  settlements,  though  subject,  as  it  were,  to 
the  Sultan,  were  looking  for  his  troops  with  dread  ;  and 
secondly,  that  they  had  no  idea  what  kind  of  people  had 
come  to  them,  and  took  the  whole  detachment  for  Kara- 
lash  parties,  who  were  marching  after  others  at  command 
of  the  Sultan. 

The  inhabitants  furnished  without  opposition  corn,  bread, 
and  dried  buffalo-meat.  Every  cottager  had  his  flock  of 
sheep,  his  buffaloes  and  horses,  secreted  near  the  rivers. 
From  time  to  time  appeared  also  very  large  herds  of  buffa- 
loes, half  wild,  and  followed  by  a  number  of  herdsmen. 
These  herdsmen  lived  in  tents  on  the  steppe,  and  remained 
in  one  place  only  while  they  found  grass  in  abundance. 
Frequently  they  were  old  Tartars.  Pan  Adam  surrounded 
them  with  as  much  care  as  if  they  were  a  chamjaul ;  he  did 
not  spare  them,  lest  they  might  send  down  toward  Budjyak 
a  report  of  his  march.  Tartars,  especially  after  he  had 
inquired  of  them  concerning  the  roads,  or  rather  the  road- 
less country,  he  slew  without  mercy,  so  that  not  a  foot 
escaped.  He  took  then  from  the  herds  as  many  cattle  as 
he  needed,  and  moved  on. 

The  detachment  went  southward ;  they  met  now  more 
frequently  herds  guarded  by  Tartars  almost  exclusively, 
and  in  rather  large  parties.  During  a  march  of  two  weeks 
Pan  Adam  surrounded  and  cut  down  three  bauds  of  shep- 
herds, numbering  some  tens  of  men.  The  dragoons  always 
took  the  sheepskin  coats  of  these  men,  and  cleaning  them 
over  fires,  put  them  on,  so  as  to  resemble  wild  herdsmen 
and  shepherds.  In  another  week  they  were  all  dressed 
like  Tartars,  and  looked  exactly  like  a  chain bul.  There 
remained  to  them  only  the  uniform  weapons  of  regular 
cavalry;  but  they  kept  their  jackets  in  the  saddle-straps, 
so  as  to  put  them  on  when  returning.  They  might  be 
recognized  near  at  hand  by  their  yellow  Mazovian  mus- 
taches and  blue  eyes;  but  from  a  distance  a  man  of  the 
greatest  experience  might  be  deceived  at  sight  of  them,  all 
the  more  since  they  drove  before  them  the  cattle  which  they 
needed  as  food. 

Approaching  the  Pruth,  they  marched  along  its  left 
bank.  Since  the  trail  of  Kuchman  was  in  a  region  too 
much  stripped,  it  was  easy  to  foresee  that  the  legions  of 
the  Sultan  and  the  horde  in  the  vanguard  would  march 


410  PAN  MICHAEL. 

through  Falezi,  Hush,  Kotimore,  and  only  then  by  the  Wal- 
lachian  trail,  and  either  turn  toward  the  Dniester,  or  go 
straight  as  the  cast  of  a  sickle  through  all  Bessarabia,  to 
come  out  on  the  boundary  of  the  Commonwealth  near 
Ushytsa.  Pan  Adam  was  so  certain  of  this  that,  caring 
nothing  for  time,  he  went  more  and  more  slowly,  and  with 
increasing  care,  so  as  not  to  come  too  suddenly  on  ehambuls. 
Arriving  at  last  at  the  river  forks  formed  by  the  Sarata 
and  the  Tekich,  he  stopped  there  for  a  long  time,  first,  to 
give  rest  to  his  horses  and  men,  and  second,  to  wait  in  a 
well-sheltered  place  for  the  vanguard  of  the  horde. 

The  place  was  well  sheltered  and  carefully  chosen,  for  all 
the  inner  and  outer  banks  of  the  two  rivers  were  covered 
partly  with  the  common  cornel-bush,  and  partly  with  dog- 
wood. This  thicket  extended  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach, 
covering  the  ground  in  places  with  dense  brushwood,  in 
places  forming  groups  of  bushes,  between  which  were  empty 
spaces,  commodious  for  camping.  At  that  season  the  trees 
and  bushes  had  cast  their  blossoms,  but  in  the  early  spring 
there  must  have  been  a  sea  of  white  and  yellow  flowers. 
The  place  was  uninhabited,  but  swarming  with  beasts, 
such  as  deer  and  rabbits,  and  with  birds.  Here  and  there, 
at  the  edge  of  a  spring,  they  found  also  bear  tracks.  One 
man  at  the  arrival  of  the  detachment  killed  a  couple  of 
sheep.  In  view  of  this,  Lusnia  promised  himself  a  sheep 
hunt ;  but  Pan  Adam,  wishing  to  lie  concealed,  did  not 
permit  the  use  of  muskets,  —  the  soldiers  went  out  to 
plunder  with  spears  and  axes. 

Later  on  they  found  near  the  water  traces  of  fires,  but 
old  ones,  probably  of  the  past  year.  It  was  evident  that 
nomads  looked  in  there  from  time  to  time  with  their  herds, 
or  perhaps  Tartars  came  to  cut  cornel-wood  for  slung 
staffs.  But  the  most  careful  search  did  not  discover  a 
living  soul.  Pan  Adam  decided  not  to  go  farther,  but  to 
remain  there  till  the  coming  of  the  Turkish  troops. 

They  laid  out  a  square,  built  huts,  and  waited.  At  the 
edges  of  the  wood  sentries  were  posted;  some  of  these 
looked  day  and  night  toward  Budjjak,  others  toward  the 
Pruth  in  the  direction  of  Falezi.  Pan  Adam  knew  that  he 
would  divine  the  approach  of  the  Sultan's  armies  by  certain 
signs ;  besides,  he  sent  out  small  detachments,  led  by  him- 
self most  frequently.  The  weather  favored  excellently  the 
halt  in  that  dry  region.  The  days  were  warm,  but  it  was 
easy  to  avoid  heat  in  the  shade  of  the  thicket ;  the  nights 


PAN  MICHAEL.  411 

were  clear,  calm,  moonlight,  and  then  the  groves  were 
quivering  from  the  singing  of  nightingales.  During  such 
nights  Pan  Adam  suffered  most,  for  he  could  not  sleep ;  he 
was  thinking  of  his  former  happiness,  and  pondering  on  the 
present  days  of  disaster.  He  lived  only  in  the  thought 
that  when  his  heart  was  sated  with  vengeance  he  would 
be  happier  and  calmer.  Meanwhile  the  time  was  ap- 
proaching in  which  he  was  to  accomplish  that  vengeance 
or  perish. 

Week  followed  week  spent  in  finding  food  in  wild  places, 
and  in  watching.  During  that  time  they  studied  all  the 
trails,  ravines,  meadows,  rivers,  and  streams,  gathered  in 
again  a  number  of  herds,  cut  down  some  small  bands  of 
nomads,  and  watched  continually  in  that  thicket,  like  a  wild 
beast  waiting  for  prey.  At  last  the  expected  moment  came. 

A  certain  morning  they  saw  flocks  of  birds  covering  the 
earth  and  the  sky.  Bustards,  ptarmigans,  blue-legged  quails, 
hurried  through  the  grass  to  the  thicket ;  through  the  sky 
flew 'ravens,  crows,  and  even  water-birds,  evidently  fright- 
ened on  the  banks  of  the  Danube  or  the  swamps  of  the 
Dobrudja.  At  sight  of  this  the  dragoons  looked  at  one 
another  ;  and  the  phrase,  "  They  are  coming  !  they  are  com- 
ing !  "  flew  from  mouth  to  mouth.  Faces  grew  animated  at 
once,  mustaches  began  to  quiver,  eyes  to  gleam,  but  in  that 
animation  there  was  not  the  slightest  alarm.  Those  were  all 
men  for  whom  life  had  passed  in  "  methods ; "  they  only 
felt  what  a  hunting  dog  feels  when  he  sniffs  game. 
Fires  were  quenched  in  a  moment,  so  that  smoke  might  not 
betray  the  presence  of  people  in  the  thicket ;  the  horses 
were  saddled;  and  the  whole  detachment  stood  ready  for 
action. 

It  was  necessary  so  to  measure  time  as  to  fall  on  the 
enemy  during  a  halt.  Pan  Adam  understood  well  that 
the  Sultan's  troops  would  not  march  in  dense  masses, 
especially  in  their  own  country,  where  danger  was  alto- 
gether unlikely.  He  knew,  too,  that  it  was  the  custom  of 
vanguards  to  march  five  or  ten  miles  before  the  main 
army.  He  hoped,  with  good  reason,  that  the  Lithuanian 
Tartars  would  be  first  in  the  vanguard. 

For  a  certain  time  he  hesitated  whether  to  advance  to 
meet  them  by  secret  roads,  well  known  to  him,  or  to  wait 
in  the  woods  for  their  coming.  He  chose  the  latter, 
because  it  was  easier  to  attack  from  the  woods  unexpectedly. 
Another  day  passed,  then  a  night,  during  which  not  only 


412  PAN  MICHAEL. 

birds  came  in  s  warms,  but  beasts  came  in  droves  to  the 
woods.  Next  morning  the  enemy  was  in  sight. 

South  of  the  wood  stretched  a  broad  though  hilly 
meadow,  which  was  lost  in  the  distant  horizon.  On  that 
meadow  appeared  the  enemy,  and  approached  the  wood 
rather  quickly.  The  dragoons  looked  from  the  trees  at 
that  dark  mass,  which  vanished  at  times,  when  hidden  by 
hills,  and  then  appeared  again  in  all  its  extent. 

Lusnia,  who  had  uncommonly  sharp  eyesight,  looked  some 
time  with  effort  at  those  crowds  approaching;  then  he  went 
to  Novoveski,  and  said,  — 

"  Pan  Commandant,  there  are  not  many  men ;  they  are 
only  driving  herds  out  to  pasture." 

Pan  Adam  convinced  himself  soon  that  Lusnia  was  right, 
and  his  face  shone  with  gladness. 

"  That  means  that  their  halting-place  is  five  or  six  miles 
from  this  grove,"  said  he. 

"  It  does,"  answered  Lusnia.  "  They  march  in  the  night, 
evidently  to  gain  shelter  from  heat,  and  rest  in  the  day ; 
they  are  sending  the  horses  now  to  pasture  till  evening." 

"  Is  there  a  large  guard  with  the  horses  ?  " 

Lusnia  pushed  out  again  to  the  edge  of  the  wood,  and  did 
not  return  for  a  longer  time.  At  last  he  came  back  and 
said.  — 

"  There  are  about  fifteen  hundred  horses  and  twenty-five 
men  with  them.  They  are  in  their  own  country ;  they  fear 
nothing,  and  do  not  put  out  strong  watches." 

"  Could  you  recognize  the  men  ?  " 

"  They  are  far  away  yet,  but  they  are  Lithuanian  Tartars. 
They  are  in  our  hands  already." 

"  They  are,"  said  Pan  Adam. 

In  fact,  he  was  convinced  that  not  a  living  foot  of  those 
men  would  escape.  For  such  a  leader  as  he,  and  such  sol- 
diers as  he  led,  that  was  a  very  light  task. 

Meanwhile  the  herdsmen  had  driven  the  beasts  nearer 
and  nearer  to  the  forest.  Lusnia  thrust  himself  out  once 
again  to  the  border,  and  returned  a  second  time.  His  face 
was  shining  with  cruelty  and  gladness. 

"  Lithuanian  Tartars,"  whispered  he. 

Hearing  this,  Pan  Adam  made  a  noise  like  a  falcon,  and 
straightway  a  division  of  dragoons  pushed  into  the  depth 
of  the  wood.  There  they  separated  into  two  parties,  one  of 
which  disappeared  in  a  defile,  so  as  to  come  out  behind  the 
herd  and  the  Tartars ;  the  other  formed  a  half-circle,  and 
waited. 


PAN  MICHAEL.  413 

All  this  was  done  so  quietly  that  the  most  trained  ear 
could  not  have  caught  a  sound  ;  neither  sabre  nor  spur  rat- 
tled ;  no  horse  neighed ;  the  thick  grass  on  the  ground  dulled 
the  tramp  of  hoofs  ;  besides,  even  the  horses  seemed  to 
understand  that  the  success  of  the  attack  depended  on 
silence,  for  they  were  performing  such  service  not  for  the 
first  time.  Nothing  was  heard  from  the  defile  and  the  brush- 
wood but  the  call  of  the  falcon,  lower  every  little  while  and 
less  frequent. 

The  herd  of  Tartar  horses  stopped  before  the  wood,  and 
scattered  in  greater  or  smaller  groups  on  the  meadow.  Pan 
Adam  himself  was  then  near  the  edge,  and  followed  all 
the  movements  of  the  herdsmen.  The  day  was  clear,  and 
the  time  before  noon,  but  the  sun  was  already  high,  and 
cast  heat  on  the  earth.  The  horses  rolled;  later  on,  they 
approached  the  wood.  The  herdsmen  rode  to  the  edge  of 
the  grove,  slipped  down  from  their  horses,  and  let  them  out 
on  lariats  ;  then  seeking  the  shade  and  cool  places,  they 
entered  the  thicket,  and  lay  down  under  the  largest  bushes 
to  rest. 

Soon  a  fire  burst  up  in  a  flame  ;  when  the  dry  sticks  had 
turned  into  coals  and  were  coated  with  ashes,  the  herdsmen 
put  half  a  colt  on  the  coals,  and  sat  at  a  distance  them- 
selves to  avoid  the  heat.  Some  stretched  on  the  grass ; 
others  talked,  sitting  in  groups,  Turkish  fashion ;  one 
began  to  play  on  a  horn.  In  the  wood  perfect  silence 
reigned;  the  falcon  called  only  at  times. 

The  odor  of  singed  flesh  announced  at  last  that  the  Toast 
was  ready.  Two  men  drew  it  out  of  the  ashes,  and  dragged 
it  to  a  shady  tree  ;  there  they  sat  in  a  circle  cutting  the  meat 
with  their  knives,  and  eating  with  beastly  greed.  From 
the  half-raw  strips  came  blood,  which  settled  on  their 
fingers,  and  flowed  down  their  beards. 

When  they  had  finished  eating,  and  had  drunk  sour  mare's 
milk  out  of  skins,  they  felt  satisfied.  They  talked  awhile 
yet ;  then  their  heads  and  limbs  became  heavy. 

Afternoon  came.  The  heat  flew  down  from  heaven  more 
and  more.  The  forest  was  varied  with  quivering  streaks  of 
light  made  by  the  rays  of  the  sun  penetrating  dense  places. 
Everything  was  silent ;  even  the  falcons  ceased  to  call. 

A  number  of  Tartars  stood  up  and  went  to  look  at  the 
horses ;  others  stretched  themselves  like  corpses  on  a  battle- 
field, and  soon  sleep  overpowered  them,  out  their  sleep 
after  meat  and  drink  was  rather  heavy  and  uneasy,  for  at 


414  PAN  MICHAEL. 

times  one  groaned  deeply,  another  opened  his  lids  for  a 
moment,  and  repeated,  "  Allah,  Bismillah  !  " 

All  at  once  on  the  edge  of  the  wood  was  heard  some  low 
but  terrible  sound,  like  the  short  rattle  of  a  stifled  man  who 
had  no  time  to  cry.  Whether  the  ears  of  the  herdsmen 
were  so  keen,  or  some  animal  instinct  had  warned  them  of 
danger,  or  finally,  whether  Death  had  blown  with  cold  breath 
on  them,  it  is  enough  that  they  sprang  up  from  sleep  in  one 
moment. 

"  What  is  that  ?  Where  are  the  men  at  the  horses  ?  " 
they  began  to  inquire  of  one  another.  Then  from  a  thicket 
some  voice  said  in  Polish,  — 

"  They  will  not  return." 

That  moment  a  hundred  and  fifty  men  rushed  in  a  circle 
at  the  herdsmen,  who  were  frightened  so  terribly  that  the 
cry  died  in  their  breasts.  An  odd  one  barely  succeeded  in 
grasping  his  dagger.  The  circle  of  attackers  covered  and 
hid  them  completely.  The  bush  quivered  from  the  pressure 
of  human  bodies,  which  struggled  in  a  disorderly  group. 
The  whistle  of  blades,  panting,  and  at  times  groaning  or 
wheezing  were  heard,  but  that  lasted  one  twinkle  of  an  eye ; 
and  all  was  silent. 

"  How  many  are  alive  ? "  asked  a  voice  among  the 
attackers. 

"  Five,  Pan  Commandant." 

"  Examine  the  bodies  ;  lest  any  escape,  give  each  man  a 
knife  in  the  throat,  and  bring  the  prisoners  to  the  fire." 

The  command  was  obeyed  in  one  moment.  The  corpses 
were  pinned  to  the  turf  with  their  own  knives  ;  the  prison- 
ers, after  their  feet  had  been  bound  to  sticks,  were  brought 
around  the  fire,  which  Lusnia  had  raked  so  that  coals, 
hidden  under  ashes,  would  be  on  the  top. 

The  prisoners  looked  at  this  preparation  and  at  Lusnia 
with  wild  eyes.  Among  them  were  three  Tartars  of  Hrep- 
tyoff  who  knew  the  sergeant  perfectly.  He  knew  them  too, 
and  said,  — 

"Well,  comrades,  you  must  sing  now;  if  not,  you  will  go 
to  the  other  world  on  roasted  soles.  For  old  acquaintance' 
sake  I  will  not  spare  fire  on  you." 

When  he  had  said  this  he  threw  dry  limbs  on  the  fire, 
which  burst  out  at  once  in  a  tall  blaze. 

Pan  Adam  came  now,  and  began  the  examination.  From 
confessions  of  the  prisoners  it  appeared  that  what  the  young 
lieutenant  had  divined  earlier  was  true.  The  Lithuanian 


PAN  MICHAEL.  415 

Tartars  and  Cheremis  were  marching  in  the  vanguard 
before  the  horde,  and  before  all  the  troops  of  the  Sultan. 
They  were  led  by  Azya,  sou  of  Tugai  Bey,  to  whom  was 
given  command  over  all  the  parties.  They,  as  well  as  the 
whole  army,  marched  at  night  because  of  the  heat ;  in  the 
day  they  sent  their  herds  out  to  pasture.  They  threw  out 
no  pickets,  for  no  one  supposed  that  troops  could  attack 
them  even  near  the  Dniester,  much  less  at  the  Pruth,  right 
at  the  dwellings  of  the  horde  ;  they  marched  comfortably, 
therefore,  with  their  herds  and  with  camels,  which  carried 
the  tents  of  the  officers.  The  tent  of  Murza  Azya  was  easily 
known,  for  it  had  a  bunchuk  fixed  on  its  summit,  and  the 
banners  of  the  companies  were  fastened  near  it  in  time  of 
halt.  The  camp  was  four  or  five  miles  distant ;  there  were 
about  two  thousand  men  in  it,  but  some  of  them  had 
remained  with  the  Belgrod  horde,  which  was  marching 
about  five  miles  behind. 

Pan  Adam  inquired  further  touching  the  road  which  would 
lead  to  the  camp  best,  then  how  the  tents  were  arranged,  and 
last,  of  that  which  concerned  him  most  deeply. 

"  Are  there  women  in  the  tent  ?  " 

The  Tartars  trembled  for  their  lives.  Those  of  them  who 
had  served  in  Hreptyoff  knew  perfectly  that  Pan  Adam  was 
the  brother  of  one  of  those  women,  and  was  betrothed  to 
the  other;  they  understood,  therefore,  what  rage  would 
seize  him  when  he  knew  the  whole  truth. 

That  rage  might  fall  first  on  them  ;  they  hesitated,  there- 
fore, but  Lusnia  said  at  once,  — 

"Pan  Commandant,  we'll  warm  their  soles  for  the  dog 
brothers  ;  then  they  will  speak." 

"  Thrust  their  feet  in  the  fire  ! "  said  Pan  Adam. 

"  Have  mercy  !  "  cried  Eliashevich,  an  old  Tartar  from 
Hreptyoff.  "  I  will  tell  all  that  my  eyes  have  seen." 

Lusnia  looked  at  the  commandant  to  learn  if  he  was  to 
carry  out  the  threat  notwithstanding  this  answer ;  but  Pan 
Adam  shook  his  head,  and  said  to  Eliashevich,  — 

"  Tell  what  thou  hast  seen." 

"  We  are  innocent,  lord,"  answered  Eliashevich ;  "  we  went 
at  command.  The  murza  gave  your  gracious  sister  to  Pan 
Adurovich,  who  had  her  in  his  tent.  I  saw  her  in  Kuehun- 
kaury  when  she  was  going  for  water  with  pails  j  and  I  helped 
her  to  carry  them,  for  she  was  heavy  —  " 

"  Woe ! "  muttered  Pan  Adam. 

"  But  the  other  lady  our  murza  himself  had  in  his  tmt. 


416  PAN  MICHAEL. 

We  did  not  see  her  so  often ;  but  we  heard  more  than  once 
how  she  screamed,  for  the  murza,  though  he  kept  her  for 
his  pleasure,  beat  her  with  rods,  and  kicked  her." 

Pan  Adam's  lips  began  to  quiver. 

Eliashevich  barely  heard  the  question. 

"  Where  are  they  now  ?  " 

"  Sold  in  Stambul." 

"  To  whom  ?  " 

"  The  murza  himself  does  not  know  certainly.  A  command 
came  from  the  Padishah  to  keep  no  women  in  camp.  All 
sold  their  women  in  the  bazaar  ;  the  murza  sold  his." 

The  explanation  was  finished,  and  at  the  fire  silence  set 
in ;  but  for  sOme  time  a  sultry  afternoon  wind  shook  the 
limbs  of  the  trees,  which  sounded  more  and  more  deeply. 
The  air  became  stifling ;  on  the  edge  of  the  horizon,  black 
clouds  appeared,  dark  in  the  centre,  and  shining  with  a 
copper-color  on  the  edges. 

Pan  Adam  walked  away  from  the  fire,  and  moved  like 
one  demented,  without  giving  an  account  to  himself  of  where 
he  was  going.  At  last  he  dropped  with  his  face  to  the 
ground,  and  began  to  tear  the  earth  with  his  nails,  then  to 
gnaw  his  own  hands,  and  then  to  gasp  as  if  dying.  A  con- 
vulsion twisted  his  gigantic  body,  and  he  lay  thus  for  hours. 
The  dragoons  looked  at  him  from  a  distance  ;  but  even 
Lusnia  dared  not  approach  him. 

Concluding  that  the  commandant  would  not  be  angry  at 
him  for  not  sparing  the  Tartars,  the  terrible  sergeant, 
impelled  by  pure  inborn  cruelty,  stuffed  their  mouths  with 
grass,  so  as  to  avoid  noise,  and  slaughtered  them  like 
bullocks.  He  spared  Eliashevich  alone,  supposing  that  he 
would  be  needed  to  guide  them.  When  he  had  finished 
this  work,  he  dragged  away  from  the  fire  the  bodies,  still 
quivering,  and  put  them  in  a  row ;  he  went  then  to  look  at 
the  commandant. 

"  Even  if  he  has  gone  mad,"  muttered  Lusnia,  "  we  must 
get  that  one." 

Midday  had  passed,  the  afternoon  hours  as  well,  and 
the  day  was  inclining  toward  evening.  But  those  clouds, 
small  at  first,  occupied  now  almost  the  whole  heavens,  and 
were  growing  ever  thicker  and  darker  without  losing  that 
copper-colored  gleam  along  the  edges.  Their  gigantic  rolls 
turned  heavily,  like  millstones  on  their  own  axes  ;  then  they 
fell  on  one  another,  crowded  one  another,  and  pushing  one 
another  from  the  height,  rolled  in  a  dense  mass  lower  and 


PAN  MICHAEL.  417 

lower  toward  the  earth.  The  wind  struck  at  times,  like  a 
bird  of  prey  with  its  wings,  bent  the  cornel-trees  and  the 
dogwood  to  the  earth,  tore  away  a  cloud  of  leaves,  and  bore 
it  apart  with  rage  ;  at  times  it  stopped  as  if  it  had  fallen 
into  the  ground.  During  such  intervals  of  silence  there  was 
heard  in  the  gathering  clouds  a  certain  ominous  rattling, 
wheezing,  rumbling ;  you  would  have  said  that  legions  of 
thunders  were  gathering  within  them  and  ranging  for 
battle,  grumbling  in  deep  voices  while  rousing  rage  and 
fury  in  themselves,  before  they  would  burst  out  and  strike 
madly  on  the  terrified  earth. 

"  A  storm,  a  storm  is  coming  !  "  whispered  the  dragoons 
to  one  another. 

The  storm  was  coming.  The  air  grew  darker  each 
instant. 

Then  on  the  east,  from  the  side  of  the  Dniester,  thunder 
rose  and  rolled  with  an  awful  outbreak  along  the  heavens, 
till  it  went  far  away,  beyond  the  Fruth ;  there  it  was  silent 
for  a  moment,  but  springing  up  afresh,  rushed  toward  the 
steppes  of  Budjyak,  and  rolled  along  the  whole  horizon. 

First,  great  drops  of  rain  fell  on  the  parched  grass.  At 
that  moment  Pan  Adam  stood  before  the  dragoons. 

"  To  horse  !  "  cried  he,  with  a  mighty  voice. 

And  at  the  expiration  of  as  much  time  as  is  needed  to 
say  a  hurried  "  Our  Father,"  he  was  moving  at  the  head  of  a 
hundred  and  fifty  horsemen.  When  he  had  ridden  out  of 
the  woods,  he  joined,  near  the  herd  of  horses,  the  other 
half  of  his  men,  who  had  been  standing  guard  at  the  field- 
side,  to  prevent  any  herdsmen  from  escaping  by  stealth  to 
the  camp.  The  dragoons  rushed  around  the  herd  in  the 
twinkle  of  an  eye,  and  giving  out  wild  shouts,  peculiar  to 
Tartars,  moved  on,  urging  before  them  the  panic-stricken 
horses. 

The  sergeant  held  Eliashevich  on  a  lariat,  and  shouted  in 
his  ear,  trying  to  outsound  the  roar  of  the  thunder,  — 

"  Lead  us  on  dog  blood,  and  straight,  or  a  knife  in  thy 
throat ! " 

Now  the  clouds  rolled  so  low  that  they  almost  touched 
the  earth.  On  a  sudden  they  burst,  like  an  explosion  in  a 
furnace,  and  a  raging  hurricane  was  let  loose ;  soon  a  blind- 
ing light  rent  the  darkness,  a  thunder-clap  came,  and  after 
it  a  second,  a  third;  the  smell  of  sulphur  spread  in  the  air, 
and  again  there  was  darkness.  Terror  seized  the  herd  of 
horses.  The  beasts,  driven  from  behind  by  the  wild  shouts 


418  PAN  MICHAEL. 

of  the  dragoons,  ran  with  distended  nostrils  and  flowing 
mane,  scarcely  touching  the  earth  in  their  onrush ;  the 
thunder  did  not  cease  for  a  moment ;  the  wind  roared,  and 
the  horses  raced  on  madly  in  that  wind,  in  that  darkness, 
amid  explosions  in  which  the  earth  seemed  to  be  breaking. 
Driven  by  the  tempest  and  by  vengeance,  they  were  like  a 
terrible  company  of  vampires  or  evil  spirits  in  that  wild 
steppe. 

Space  fled  before  them.  No  guide  was  needed,  for  the 
herd  ran  straight  to  the  camp  of  the  Tartars,  which  was 
nearer  and  nearer.  But  before  they  had  reached  it,  the 
storm  was  unchained,  as  if  the  sky  and  the  earth  had  gone 
mad.  The  whole  horizon  blazed  with  living  fire,  by  the 
gleam  of  which  were  seen  the  tents  standing  on  the  steppe ; 
the  world  was  quivering  from  the  roar  of  thunders ;  it 
seemed  that  the  clouds  might  burst  any  moment  and  tumble 
to  the  earth.  In  fact,  their  sluices  were  opened,  and  floods 
of  rain  began  to  deluge  the  steppe.  The  downfall  was  so 
dense  that  a  few  paces  distant  nothing  could  be  seen,  and 
from  the  earth,  inflamed  by  the  heat  of  the  sun,  a  thick 
mist  was  soon  rising. 

Yet  a  little  while,  and  herd  and  dragoons  will  be  in  the 
camp. 

But  right  before  the  tents  the  herd  split,  and  ran  to  both 
sides  in  wild  panic ;  three  hundred  breasts  gave  out  a  fear- 
ful shriek  ;  three  hundred  sabres  glittered  in  the  flame  of 
the  lightning,  and  the  dragoons  fell  on  the  tents. 

Before  the  -outburst  of  the  torrent,  the  Tartars  saw  in  the 
lightning-flashes  the  on-coming  herd  ;  but  none  of  them  knew 
what  terrible  herdsmen  were  driving.  Astonishment  and 
alarm  seized  them  ;  they  wondered  why  the  herd  should  rush 
straight  at  the  tents ;  then  they  began  to  shout  to  frighten 
them  away.  Azya  himself  pushed  aside  the  canvas  door, 
and  in  spite  of  the  rain,  went  out  with  anger  on  his  threaten- 
ing face.  But  that  instant  the  herd  split  in  two,  and,  amid 
torrents  of  rain  and  in  the  fog,  certain  fierce  forms  looked 
black  and  many  times  greater  in  number  than  the  horse- 
herds  ;  then  the  terrible  cry,  "  Slay,  kill !  "  was  heard. 

There  was  no  time  for  anything,  not  even  to  guess  what 
had  happened,  not  even  to  be  frightened.  The  hurricane 
of  men,  more  dreadful  and  furious  by  far  than  the  tempest, 
whirled  on  to  the  camp.  Before  Tugai  Bey's  son  could 
retreat  one  step  toward  his  tent,  some  power  more  than 
human,  as  you  would  have  said,  raised  him  from  the  earth. 


PAN   MICHAEL.  419 

Suddenly  he  felt  that  a  dreadful  embrace  was  squeezing 
him,  that  from  its  pressure  his  bones  were  bending  and  his 
ribs  breaking ;  soon  he  saw,  as  if  in  mist,  a  face  rather  than 
which  he  would  have  seen  Satan's,  and  fainted. 

By  that  time  the  battle  had  begun,  or  rather  the  ghastly 
slaughter.  The  storm,  the  darkness,  the  unknown  number 
of  the  assailants,  the  suddenness  of  the  attack,  and  the  scat- 
tering of  the  horses  were  the  cause  that  the  Tartars  scarcely 
defended  themselves.  The  madness  of  terror  simply  took 
possession  of  them.  No  one  knew  whither  to  escape,  where 
to  hide  himself.  Many  had  no  weapons  at  hand  ;  the  attack 
found  many  asleep.  Therefore,  stunned,  bewildered,  and 
terrified,  they  gathered  into  dense  groups,  crowding,  .over- 
turning, and  trampling  one  another.  The  breasts  of  horses 
pushed  them  down,  threw  them  to  the  ground ;  sabres  cut 
them,  hoofs  crushed  them.  A  storm  does  not  so  break, 
destroy,  and  lay  waste  a  young  forest,  wolves  do  not  eat 
into  a  flock  of  bewildered  sheep,  as  the  dragoons  trampled 
and  cut  down  those  Tartars.  On  the  one  hand,  bewilder- 
ment, on  the  other,  rage  and  vengeance,  completed  the 
measure  of  their  misfortune.  Torrents  of  blood  were 
mingled  with  the  rain.  It  seemed  to  the  Tartars  that  the 
sky  was  falling  on  them,  that  the  earth  was  opening  under 
their  feet.  The  flash  of  lightning,  the  roar  of  thunder,  the 
noise  of  rain,  the  darkness,  the  terror  of  the  storm,  answered 
to  the  dreadful  outcries  of  the  slaughtered.  The  horses  of 
the  dragoons,  seized  also  with  fear,  rushed,  as  if  maddened, 
into  the  throng,  breaking  it  and  stretching  the  men  on  the 
ground.  At  length  the  smaller  groups  began  to  flee,  but 
they  had  lost  knowledge  of  the  place  to  such  a  degree  that 
they  fled  around  on  the  scene  of  struggle,  instead  of  fleeing 
straight  forward  ;  and  frequently  they  knocked  against  one 
another,  like  two  opposing  waves,  struck  one  another,  over- 
turned one  another,  and  went  under  the  sword.  At  last  the 
dragoons  scattered  the  remnant  of  them  completely,  and 
slew  them  in  the  flight,  taking  no  prisoners,  and  pursuing 
without  mercy  till  the  trumpets  called  them  back  from 
pursuit. 

Never  had  an  attack  been  more  unexpected,  and  never  a 
defeat  more  terrible.  Three  hundred  men  had  scattered 
to  the  four  winds  of  the  world  nearly  two  thousand  cavalry, 
surpassing  incomparably  in  training  the  ordinary  chambuls. 
The  greater  part  of  them  were  lying  flat  in  red  pools  of 
blood  and  rain.  The  rest  dispersed,  hid  their  heads,  thanks 


420  PAN   MICHAEL. 

to  the  darkness,  and  escaped  on  foot,  at  random,  not  certain 
that  they  would  not  run  under  the  knife  a  second  time. 
The  storm  and  the  darkness  assisted  the  victors,  as  if  the 
anger  of  God  were  fighting  on  their  side  against  traitors. 

Night  had  fallen  completely  when  Pan  Adam  moved  out 
at  the  head  of  his  dragoons,  to  return  to  the  boundaries  of 
the  Commonwealth.  Between  the  young  lieutenant  and 
Lusnia,  the  sergeant,  went  a  horse  from  the  herd.  On  the 
back  of  this  horse  lay,  bound  with  cords,  the  leader  of  all 
the  Lithuanian  Tartars,  —  Azya,  the  son  of  Tugai  Bey,  with 
broken  ribs.  He  was  alive,  but  in  a  swoon.  Both  looked 
at  him  from  time  to  time  as  carefully  and  anxiously  as  if 
they  were  carrying  a  treasure,  and  were  fearful  of  losing  it. 

The  storm  began  to  pass.  On  the  heavens,  legions  of 
clouds  were  still  moving,  but  in  intervals  between  them, 
stars  were  beginning  to  shine,  and  to  be  reflected  in  lakes 
of  water,  formed  on  the  steppe  by  the  dense  rain.  In  the 
distance,  in  the  direction  of  the  Commonwealth,  thunder 
was  still  roaring  from  time  to  time. 


PAN  MICHAEL.  421 


CHAPTER  L. 

THE  fugitive  Tartars  carried  news  to  the  Belgrod  horde 
of  the  disaster.  Couriers  from  them  took  the  news  to  the 
Ordu  i  Humayun,  —  that  is,  to  the  Sultan's  camp,  —  where 
it  made  an  uncommon  impression. 

J'au  Adam  had  no  need,  it  is  true,  to  flee  too  hurriedly 
with  his  booty  to  the  Commonwealth,  for  not  only  did  no 
one  pursue  him  at  the  first  moment,  but  not  even  for  the 
two  succeeding  days.  The  Sultan  was  so  astonished  that  he 
knew  not  what  to  think.  He  sent  Belgrod  and  Dobrudja 
chambuls  at  once  to  discover  what  troops  were  in  the 
vicinity.  They  went  unwillingly,  for  with  them  it  was  a 
question  of  their  own  skins.  Meanwhile  the  tidings,  given 
from  mouth  to  mouth,  grew  to  be  the  account  of  a  consider- 
able overthrow.  Men  inhabiting  the  depth  of  Asia  or 
Africa,  who  had  not  gone  hitherto  with  war  to  Lehistan, 
and  who  heard  from  narratives  of  the  terrible  cavalry  of 
the  unbelievers,  were  seized  with  fright  at  the  thought  that 
they  were  already  in  presence  of  that  enemy  who  did  not 
wait  for  them  within  his  own  boundaries,  but  sought  them 
in  the  very  dominions  of  the  Padishah ;  the  grand  vizir 
himself,  and  the  "  future  sun  of  war,"  the  kaimakan,  Kara 
Mustafa,  did  not  know  either  what  to  think  of  the  attack. 
How  that  Commonwealth,  of  whose  weakness  they  had  the 
minutest  accounts,  could  assume  all  at  once  the  offensive, 
no  Turkish  head  could  explain.  It  is  enough  that  hence- 
forth the  march  seemed  less  secure,  and  less  like  a  triumph. 
At  the  council  of  war  the  Sultan  received  the  vizir  and 
the  kaimakan  with  a  terrible  countenance. 

"  You  have  deceived  me,"  said  he.  "  The  Poles  cannot  be 
so  weak,  since  they  seek  us  even  here.  You  told  me  that 
Sobieski  would  not  defend  Kamenyets,  and  now  he  is  surely 
in  front  of  us,  with  his  whole  army." 

The  vizir  and  kaimakan  tried  to  explain  to  their  lord  that 
this  might  be  some  detached  band  of  robbers ;  but  in  view 
of  the  muskets  and  of  straps,  in  which  there  were  dragoon 
jackets,  they  did  not  believe  that  themselves.  The  recent 
expedition  of  Sobieski  to  the  Ukraine,  daring  beyond  every 


422  PAN  MICHAEL. 

measure,  but  for  all  that  victorious,  permitted  the  supposi- 
tion that  the  terrible  leader  intended  to  anticipate  the  enemy 
this  time  as  well  as  the  other. 

"He  has  no  troops,"  said  the  grand  vizir  to  the  kaima- 
kan,  while  coming  out  from  the  council ;  "  but  there  is  a 
lion  in  him  which  knows  nothing  of  fear.  If  he  has  collected 
even  a  few  thousand,  and  is  here,  we  shall  march  in  blood 
to  Hotin." 

"  I  should  like  to  measure  strength  with  him,"  said  young 
Kara  Mustafa. 

"  May  God  avert  from  you  misfortune !  "  answered  the 
grand  vizir. 

By  degrees,  however,  the  Belgrod  and  Dobrudja  cham- 
buls  convinced  themselves  that  there  were  not  only  no 
large  bodies  of  troops,  but  no  troops  at  all  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. They  discovered  the  trail  of  a  detachment  numbering 
about  three  hundred  horse,  which  moved  hurriedly  toward 
the  Dniester.  The  Tartars,  remembering  the  fate  of  Azya's 
men,  made  no  pursuit,  out  of  fear  of  an  ambush.  The  attack 
remained  as  something  astonishing  and  unexplained ;  but 
quiet  came  back  by  degrees  to  the  Ordu  i  Humayun,  and 
the  armies  of  the  Padishah  began  again  to  advance  like  an 
inundation. 

Meanwhile,  Pan  Adam  was  returning  safely  with  his 
living  booty  to  Rashkoff.  He  went  hurriedly,  but  as  expe- 
rienced scouts  learned  on  the  second  day  that  there  was 
no  pursuit,  he  advanced,  notwithstanding  his  haste,  at  a 
gait  not  to  weary  the  horses  over-much.  Azya,  fastened 
with  cords  to  the  back  of  the  horse,  was  always  between 
Pan  Adam  and  Lusnia.  He  had  two  ribs  broken,  and 
had  become  wonderfully  weak,  for  even  the  wound  given 
him  by  Basia  in  the  face  opened  from  his  struggle  with 
Pan  Adam  and  from  riding  with  head  hanging  down.  The 
terrible  sergeant  was  careful  that  he  should  not  die  before 
reaching  Rashkoff,  and  thus  baffle  revenge.  The  young 
Tartar  wanted  to  die.  Knowing  what  awaited  him,  he 
determined  first  of  all  to  kill  himself  with  hunger,  and 
would  not  take  food  ;  but  Lusnia  opened  his  set  teeth  with 
a  knife,  and  forced  into  his  mouth  gorailka  and  Moldavian 
wine,  in  which  biscuits,  rubbed  to  dust,  had  been  mixed. 
At  the  places  of  halting,  they  threw  water  on  his  face,  lest 
the  wounds  of  his  eye  and  his  nose,  on  which  flies  and 
gnats  had  settled  thickly  during  the  journey,  should  mor- 
tify, and  bring  premature  death  to  the  ill-fated  man. 


PAN   MICHAEL.  423 

Pan  Adam  did  not  speak  to  him  on  the  road.  Once  only, 
at  the  beginning  of  the  journey,  when  Azya,  at  the  price  of 
his  freedom  and  life,  offered  to  return  Zosia  and  Eva,  did 
the  lieutenant  say  to  him,  — 

"  Thou  liest,  dog  !  Both  were  sold  by  thee  to  a  merchant 
of  Stambul,  who  will  sell  them  again  in  the  bazaar." 

And  straightway  they  brought  Eliashevich,  who  said  in 
presence  of  all,  — 

"  It  is  so,  Effendi.  You  sold  her  without  knowing  to 
whom ;  and  Adurovich  sold  the  bagadyr's l  sister,  though 
she  was  with  child  by  him." 

After  these  words,  it  seemed  for  a  while  to  Azya  that 
Novoveski  would  crush  him  at  once  in  his  terrible  grasp. 
Afterwards,  when  he  had  lost  all  hope,  he  resolved  to  bring 
the  young  giant  to  kill  him  in  a  transport  of  rage,  and  in 
that  way  spare  himself  future  torment ;  since  Novoveski, 
unwilling  to  let  his  captive  out  of  sight,  rode  always  near 
him,  Azya  began  to  boast  beyond  measure  and  shamelessly 
of  all  that  he  had  done.  He  told  how  he  had  killed  old 
Novoveski,  how  he  had  kept  Zosia  Boski  in  the  tent,  how 
he  gloated  over  her  innocence,  how  he  had  torn  her  body 
with  rods,  and  kicked  her.  The  sweat  rolled  off  the  pale 
face  of  Pan  Adam  in  thick  drops.  He  listened ;  he  had 
not  the  power,  he  had  not  the  wish  to  go  away.  He 
listened  eagerly,  his  hands  quivered,  his  body  shook  con- 
vulsively ;  still  he  mastered  himself,  and  did  not  kill. 

But  Azya,  while  tormenting  his  enemy,  tormented  him- 
self, for  his  narratives  brought  to  his  mind  his  present 
misfortune.  Not  long  before,  he  was  commanding  men, 
living  in  luxury,  a  murza,  a  favorite  of  the  young  kaimakan; 
now,  lashed  to  the  back  of  a  horse,  and  eaten  alive  by  flies, 
he  was  travelling  on  to  a  terrible  death.  Eelief  came  to 
him  when,  from  the  pain  of  his  wounds,  and  from  suffering, 
he  fainted.  This  happened  with  growing  frequency,  so 
that  Lusnia  began  to  fear  that  he  might  not  bring  him  alive. 
But  they  travelled  night  and  day,  giving  only  as  much  rest 
to  the  horses  as  was  absolutely  needful,  and  Kashkoff 
was  ever  nearer  and  nearer.  Still  the  horned  soul  of  the 
Tartar  would  not  leave  the  afflicted  body.  But  during  the 
last  days  he  was  in  a  continual  fever,  and  at  times  he  fell 
into  an  oppressive  sleep.  More  than  once  in  that  fever  or 
sleep  he  dreamed  that  he  was  still  in  Hreptyoff,  that  he  had 

1  Hero. 


424  PAN  MICHAEL. 

to  go  with  Volodyovski  to  a  great  war ;  again  that  he  was 
conducting  Basia  to  Rashkoff;  again  that  he  had  borne  her 
away,  and  hidden  her  in  his  tent ;  at  times  in  the  fever  he  saw- 
battles  and  slaughter,  in  which,  as  hetman  of  the  Polish 
Tartars,  he  was  giving  orders  from  under  his  bunchuk. 
But  awakening  came,  and  with  it  consciousness.  Opening 
his  eyes,  he  saw  the  face  of  Novoveski,  the  face  of  Lusnia, 
the  helmets  of  the  dragoons,  who  had  thrown  aside  the 
sheepskin  caps  of  the  horseherds ;  and  all  that  reality 
was  so  dreadful  that  it  seemed  to  him  a  genuine  nightmare. 
Every  movement  of  the  horse  tortured  him ;  his  wounds 
burned  him  increasingly;  and  again  he  fainted.  Pierced 
with  pain,  he  recovered  consciousness,  to  fall  into  a  fever, 
and  with  it  into  a  dream,  to  wake  up  again. 

There  were  moments  in  which  it  seemed  to  him  impos- 
sible that  he,  such  a  wretched  man,  could  be  Azya,  the  son 
of  Tugai  Bey  ;  that  his  life,  which  was  full  of  uncommon 
events,  and  which  seemed  to  promise  a  great  destiny,  was  to 
end  with  such  suddenness,  and  so  terribly. 

At  times  too  it  came  to  his  head  that  after  torments 
and  death  he  would  go  straightway  to  paradise ;  but 
because  once  he  had  professed  Christianity,  and  had  lived 
long  among  Christians,  fear  seized  him  at  the  thought  of 
Christ.  Christ  would  have  no  pity  on  him  ;  if  the  Prophet 
had  been  mightier  than  Christ,  he  would  not  have  given 
him  into  the  hands  of  Pan  Adam.  Perhaps,  however,  the 
Prophet  would  show  pity  yet,  and  take  the  soul  out  of 
him  before  Pan  Adam  would  kill  him  with  torture. 

Meanwhile,  Rashkoff  was  at  hand.  They  entered  a 
country  of  cliffs,  which  indicated  the  vicinity  of  the 
Dniester.  Azya  in  the  evening  fell  into  a  condition  half 
feverish,  half  conscious,  in  which  illusions  were  mingled 
with  reality.  It  seemed  to  him  that  they  had  arrived,  that 
they  had  stopped,  that  he  heard  around  him  the  words 
"  Rashkoff  !  Rashkoff  J "  Next  it  seemed  to  him  that  he 
heard  the  noise  of  axes  cutting  wood. 

Then  he  felt  that  men  were  dashing  cold  water  on  his 
head,  and  then  for  a  long  time  they  were  pouring  gorailka 
into  his  mouth.  After  that  he  recovered  entirely.  Above 
him  was  a  starry  night,  and  around  him  many  torches  were 
gleaming.  To  his  ears  came  the  words,  — 

"  Is  he  conscious  ?  " 

"  Conscious.     He  seems  in  his  mind." 

And  that  moment  he  saw  above  him  the  face  of  Lusnia. 


PAN  MICHAEL.  425 

"  Well,  brother,"  said  the  sergeant,  in  a  calm  voice, 
"  the  hour  is  on  thee  !  " 

Azya  was  lying  on  his  back  and  breathing  freely,  for  his 
arms  were  stretched  upward  at  both  sides  of  his  head,  by 
reason  of  which  his  expanded  breast  moved  more  freely 
and  received  more  air  than  when  he  was  lying  lashed  to 
the  back  of  the  horse.  But  he  could  not  move  his  hands, 
for  they  were  tied  above  his  head  to  an  oak  staff  which  was 
placed  at  right  angles  to  his  shoulders,  and  were  bound 
with  straw  steeped  in  tar.  Azya  divined  in  a  moment  why 
this  was  done  ;  but  at  that  moment  he  saw  other  prepara- 
tions also,  which  announced  that  his  torture  would  be  long 
and  ghastly.  He  was  undressed  from  his  waist  to  his  feet; 
and  raising  his  head  somewhat,  he  saw  between  his  naked 
knees  a  freshly  trimmed,  pointed  stake,  the  larger  end  of 
which  was  placed  against  the  butt  of  a  tree.  From  each 
of  his  feet  there  went  a  rope  ending  with  a  whiffletree,  to 
which  a  horse  was  attached.  By  the  light  of  the  torches 
Azya  could  see  only  the  rumps  of  the  horses  and  two  men, 
standing  somewhat  farther  on,  who  evidently  were  holding 
the  horses  by  the  head. 

The  hapless  man  took  in  these  preparations  at  a  glance ; 
then,  looking'  at  the  heavens,  it  is  unknown  why,  he  saw 
stars  and  the  gleaming  crescent  of  the  moon. 

"  They  will  draw  me  on,"  thought  he. 

And  at  once  he  closed  his  teeth  so  firmly  that  a  spasm 
seized  his  jaws.  Sweat  came  out  on  his  forehead,  and  at 
the  same  time  his  face  became  cold,  for  the  blood  rushed 
away  from  it.  Then  it  seemed  to  him  that  the  earth  was 
fleeing  from  under  his  shoulders,  that  his  body  was  flying 
and  flying  into  some  fathomless  abyss.  For  a  while  he 
lost  consciousness  of  time,  of  place,  and  of  what  they 
were  doing  to  him.  The  sergeant  opened  Azya's  mouth 
with  a  knife,  and  poured  in  more  gorailka. 

He  coughed  and  spat  out  the  burning  liquor,  but  was 
forced  to  swallow  some  of  it.  Then  he  fell  into  a  wonder- 
ful condition :  he  was  not  drunk ;  on  the  contrary,  his  mind 
had  never  been  clearer,  nor  his  thought  quicker.  He  saw 
what  they  were  doing,  he  understood  everything ;  but  an 
uncommon  excitement  seized  him,  as  it  were, —  impatience 
that  all  was  lasting  so  long,  and  that  nothing  was  beginning 
yet. 

Next  heavy  steps  were  heard  near  by,  and  before  him 
stood  Pan  Adam.  At  sight  of  him  all  the  veins  in  the 


426  PAN  MICHAEL. 

Tartar  quivered.  Lusnia  he  did  not  fear;  he  despised  him 
too  much.  But  Pan  Adam  he  did  not  despise ;  indeed,  he  had 
no  reason  to  despise  him :  on  the  contrary,  every  look  of  his 
face  filled  Azya's  soul  with  a  certain  superstitious  dread 
and  repulsion.  He  thought  to  himself  at  that  moment,  "  I 
arn  in  his  power ;  I  fear  him ! "  and  that  was  such  a  terrible 
feeling  that  under  its  influence  the  hair  stiffened  on  the 
head  of  Tugai  Bey's  son. 

"  For  what  thou  hast  done,  thou  wilt  perish  in  torment," 
said  Pan  Adam. 

The  Tartar  gave  no  answer,  but  began  to  pant  audibly. 

Novoveski  withdrew,  and  then  followed  a  silence  which 
was  broken  by  Lusnia. 

"  Thou  didst  raise  thy  hand  on  the  lady,"  said  he,  with 
a  hoarse  voice ;  "  but  now  the  lady  is  at  home  with  her 
husband,  and  thou  art  in  our  hands.  Thy  hour  has  come  !  " 

With  those  words  the  act  of  torture  began  for  Azya. 
That  terrible  man  learned  at  the  hour  of  his  death  that 
his  treason  and  cruelty  had  profited  nothing.  If  even 
Basia  had  died  on  the  road,  he  would  have  had  the  consolation 
that  though  not  in  his,  she  would  not  be  in  any  man's, 
possession ;  and  that  solace  was  taken  from  him  just  then, 
when  the  point  of  the  stake  was  at  an  ell's  length  from  his 
body.  All  had  been  in  vain.  So  many  treasons,  so  much 
blood,  so  much  impending  punishment  for  nothing,  —  for 
nothing  whatever ! 

Lusnia  did  not  know  how  grievous  those  words  had  made 
death  to  Azya ;  had  he  known,  he  would  have  repeated  them 
during  the  whole  journey. 

But  there  was  no  time  for  regrets  then;  everything 
must  give  way  before  the  execution.  Lusnia  stooped  down, 
and  taking  Azya's  hips  in  both  his  hands  to  give  them 
direction,  called  to  the  men  holding  the  horses,  — 

"  Move  !  but  slowly  and  together ! " 

The  horses  moved ;  the  straightened  ropes  pulled  Azya's 
legs.  In  a  twinkle  his  body  was  drawn  along  the  earth 
and  met  the  point  of  the  stake.  Then  the  point  commenced 
to  sink  in  him,  and  something  dreadful  began,  —  something 
repugnant  to  nature  and  the  feelings  of  man.  The  bones  of 
the  unfortunate  moved  apart  from  one  another ;  his  body  gave 
way  in  two  directions ;  pain  indescribable,  so  awful  that  it 
almost  bounds  on  some  monstrous  delight,  penetrated 
his  being.  The  stake  sank  more  and  more  deeply.  Azya 
fixed  his  jaws,  but  he  could  not  endure ;  his  teeth  were 


PAN  MICHAEL.  427 

bared  in  a  ghastly  grin,  and  out  of  his  throat  came  the 
cry,  •'  A !  a !  a !  "  like  the  croaking  of  a  raven. 

"  Slowly  ! "  commanded  the  sergeant. 

Azya  repeated  his  terrible  cry  more  and  more  quickly. 

"  Art  croaking  ?  "  inquired  the  sergeant.   . 

Then  he  called  to  the  men,  — 

"  Stop  !  together  !  There,  it  is  done,"  said  he,  turning  to 
Azya,  who  had  grown  silent  at  once,  and  in  whose  throat 
only  a  deep  rattling  was  heard. 

The  horses  were  taken  out  quickly ;  then  men  raised 
the  stake,  planted  the  large  end  of  it  in  a  hole  prepared 
purposely,  and  packed  earth  around  it.  The  son  of  Tugai 
Bey  looked  from  above  on  that  work.  He  was  conscious. 
That  hideous  species  of  punishment  is  in  this  the  more 
dreadful,  that  victims  drawn  on  to  the  stake  live  sometimes 
three  days.  Azya's  head  w.as  hanging  on  his  breast ;  his 
lips  were  moving,  smacking,  as  if  he  were  chewing  some- 
thing and  tasting  it.  He  felt  then  a  great  faintness,  and  saw 
before  him,  as  it  were,  a  boundless,  whitish  mist,  which,  it 
is  unknown  wherefore,  seemed  to  him  terrible  ;  but  in  that 
mist  he  recognized  the  faces  of  the  sergeant  and  the  dra- 
goons, he  saw  that  he  was  on  the  stake,  that  the  weight  of 
his  body  was  sinking  him  deeper  and  deeper.  Then  he 
began  to  grow  numb  from  the  feet,  and  began  to  be  less  and 
less  sensitive  to  pain. 

At  times  darkness  hid  from  him  that  whitish  mist;  then 
he  blinked  with  his  one  seeing  eye,  wishing  to  see  and 
behold  everything  till  death.  His  gaze  passed  with  par- 
ticular persistence  from  torch  to  torch,  for  it  seemed  to 
him  that  around  each  flame  there  was  a  rainbow  circle. 

But  his  torture  was  not  ended  ;  after  a  while  the  sergeant 
approached  the  stake  with  an  auger  in  his  hand,  and  cried 
to  those  standing  near,  — 

"  Lift  me  up." 

Two  strong  men  raised  him  aloft.  Azya  began  to  look 
at  him  closely,  blinking,  as  if  he  wished  to  know  what 
kind  of  man  was  climbing  up  to  his  height.  Then  the 
sergeant  said,  — 

"  The  lady  knocked  out  one  eye,  and  I  promised  myself 
to  bore  out  the  other." 

When  he  had  said  this,  he  put  the  point  into  the  pupil, 
twisted  once  and  a  second  time,  and  when  the  lid  and 
delicate  skin  surrounding  the  eye  were  wound  around  the 
spiral  of  the  auger,  he  jerked. 


428  PAN  MICHAEL. 

Then  from  the  two  eye-sockets  of  Azya  two  streams  of 
blood  flowed,  and  they  flowed  like  two  streams  of  tears 
down  his  face.  His  face  itself  grew  pale  and  still  paler, 
The  dragoons  extinguished  the  torches  in  silence,  as  if  in 
shame  that  light  had  shone  on  a  deed  of  such  ghastliness  ; 
and  from  the  crescent  of  the  moon  alone  fell  silvery  though 
not  very  bright  rays  on  the  body  of  Azya.  His  head  fell 
entirely  on  his  breast ;  but  his  hands,  bound  to  the  oak  staff, 
and  enveloped  in  straw  steeped  in  tar,  were  pointing  toward 
the  sky,  as-  if  that  son  of  the  Orient  were  calling  the 
vengeance  of  the  Turkish  crescent  on  his  executioners. 

"  To  horse  I  "  was  heard  from  Pan  Adam. 

Before  mounting  the  sergeant  ignited,  with  the  last  torch, 
those  uplifted  hands  of  the  Tartar ;  and  the  detachment 
moved  toward  Yampol.  Amid  the  ruins  of  Rashkoff,  in 
the  night  and  the  desert,  Azya,  the  son  of  Tugai  Bey, 
remained  on  the  lofty  stake,  a"nd  he  gleamed  there  a  long 
time. 


FAN  MICHAEL.  429 


CHAPTER   LI. 

THREE  weeks  later,  at  midday,  Pan  Adam  was  in  Hrep- 
tyoff. He  had  made  the  journey  from  Kashkoff  so  slowly 
because  he  had  crossed  to  the  other  side  of  the  Dnieper 
many  times,  while  attacking  charnbuls  and  the  perkulab's 
people  along  the  river,  at  various  stanitsas.  These  informed 
the  Sultan's  troops  afterward  that  they  had  seen  Polish 
detachments  everywhere,  and  had  heard  of  great  armies, 
which  surely  would  not  wait  for  the  coming  of  the  Turks 
at  Kamenyets,  but  would  intercept  their  march,  and  meet 
them  in  a  general  battle. 

The  Sultan,  who  had  been  assured  of  the  helplessness 
of  the  Commonwealth,  was  greatly  astonished ;  and  sending 
Tartars,  Wallachians,  and  the  hordes  of  the  Danube  in 
advance,  he  pushed  forward  slowly,  for  in  spite  of  his 
measureless  strength^  he  had  great  fear  of  a  battle  with 
the  armies  of  the  Commonwealth. 

Pan  Adam  did  not  find  Volodyovski  in  Hreptyoff,  for 
the  little  knight  had  followed  Motovidlo  to  assist  the 
starosta  of  Podlyasye  against  the  Crimean  horde  and 
Doroshenko.  There  he  gained  great  victories,  adding 
new  glory  to  his  former  renown.  He  defeated  the  stern 
Korpan,  and  left  his  body  as  food  to  beasts  on  the  open 
plain;  he  crushed  the  terrible  Drozd,  and  the  manful 
Malyshka,  and  the  two  brothers  Siny,  celebrated  Cossack 
raiders,  also  a  number  of  inferior  bands  and  chambuls. 

But  when  Pan  Adam  arrived,  Pani  Volodyovski  was  just 
preparing  to  go  with  the  rest  of  the  people  and  the  tabor 
to  Kamenyets,  for  it  was  necessary  to  leave  Hreptyoff,  in 
view  of  the  invasion.  Basia  was  grieved  to  leave  that 
wooden  fortalice,  in  which  she  had  experienced  many  evils, 
it  is  true,  but  in  which  the  happiest  part  of  her  life  had 
been  passed,  with  her  husband,  among  loving  hearts,  famous 
soldiers.  She  was  going  now,  at  her  own  request,  to 
Kamenyets,  to  unknown  fortunes  and  dangers  involved  in 
the  siege.  But  since  she  had  a  brave  heart,  she  did  not 
yield  to  sorrow,  but  watched  the  preparations  carefully, 
guarding  the  soldiers  and  the  tabor.  In  this  she  was  aided 


430  PAN  MICHAEL. 

by  Zagloba,  who  in  every  necessity  surpassed  all  in  under- 
standing, together  with  Pan  Mushalski,  the  incomparable 
bowman,  who  was  besides  a  soldier  of  valiant  hand  and 
uncommon  experience. 

All  were  delighted  at  the  arrival  of  Pan  Adam,  though 
they  knew  at  once,  from  the  face  of  the  knight,  that  he  had 
not  freed  Eva  or  the  sweet  Zosia  from  Pagan  captivity. 
Basia  bewailed  the  fate  of  the  two  ladies  with  bitter  tears, 
for  they  were  to  be  looked  on  as  lost.  Sold,  it  was 
unknown  to  whom,  they  might  be  taken  from  the  markets 
of  Stambul  to  Asia  Minor,  to  islands  under  Turkish  rule, 
or  to  Egypt,  and  be  confined  there  in  harems  ;  hence  it  was 
not  only  impossible  to  ransom  them,  but  even  to  learn 
where  they  were. 

Basia  wept ;  the  wise  Pan  Zagloba  wept ;  so  did  Pan 
Mushalski,  the  incomparable  bowman.  Pan  Adam  alone  had 
dry  eyes,  for  tears  had  failed  him  already.  But  when  he 
told  how  he  had  gone  down  to  Tykich  near  the  Danube, 
had  cut  to  pieces  the  Lithuanian  Tartars  almost  at  the 
side  of  the  horde  and  the  Sultan,  and  had  seized  Azya, 
the  evil  enemy,  the  two  old  men  rattled  their  sabres,  and 
said,  — 

"  Give  him  hither  !     Here,  in  Hreptyoff,  should  he  die." 

"  Not  in  Hreptyoff,"  said  Pan  Adam.  "  Rashkoff  is  the 
place  of  his  punishment,  that  is  the  place  where  he  should 
die ;  and  the  sergeant  here  found  a  torment  for  him  whi'ch 
was  not  easy." 

He  described  then  the  death  which  Azya  had  died,  and 
they  listened  with  terror,  but  without  pity. 

"That  the  Lord  God  pursues  crime  is  known,"  said 
Zagloba  at  last ;  "  but  it  is  a  wonder  that  the  Devil  protects 
his  servants  so  poorly." 

Basia  sighed  piously,  raised  her  eyes,  and  after  a  short 
meditation  answered,  — 

"He  does,  for  he  lacks  strength  to  stand  against  the 
might  of  God." 

"  Oh,  you  have  said  it,"  remarked  Pan  Mushalski,  "  for 
if,  which  God  forfend,  the  Devil  were  mightier  than  the 
Lord,  all  justice,  and  with  it  the  Commonwealth,  would 
vanish." 

"  I  am  not  afraid  of  the  Turks,  —  first,  because  they  are 
such  sons,  and  secondly,  they  are  children  of  Belial," 
answered  Zagloba. 

All  were  silent  for  a  while.     Pan  Adam  sat  on  the  bench 


PAN   MICHAEL.  431 

with  his  palms  on  his  knees,  looking  at  the  floor  with 
glassy  eyes. 

"  It  must  have  been  some  consolation,"  said  Pan 
Mushalski,  turning  to  him;  "it  is  a  great  solace  to  accom- 
plish a  proper  vengeance." 

"  Tell  us,  has  it  consoled  you  really  ?  Do  you  feel  better 
now  '/  "  asked  Basia,  with  a  voice  full  of  pity. 

The  giant  was  silent  for  a  time,  as  it'  struggling  with  his 
own  thoughts ;  at  last  he  said,  as  if  in  great  wonderment, 
and  so  quietly  that  he  was  almost  whispering,  — 

"  Imagine  to  yourself,  as  God  is  dear  to  me,  I  thought 
that  I  should  feel  better  if  I  were  to  destroy  him.  I  saw 
him  on  the  stake,  I  saw  him  when  his  eye  was  bored  out, 
I  said  to  myself  that  I  felt  better;  but  it  is  not  true,  not 
true." 

Here  Pan  Adam  embraced  his  hapless  head  with  his 
hands,  and  said  through  his  set  teeth,  — 

i(  It  was  better  for  him  on  the  stake,  better  with  the 
auger  in  his  eye,  better  with  fire  on  his  hands,  than  for 
me  with  that  which  is  sitting  within  me,  which  is  thinking 
and  remembering  within  me.  Death  is  my  one  consolation ; 
death,  death,  that  is  the  truth." 

Hearing  this,  Basia's  valiant  and  soldier  heart  rose 
quickly,  and  putting  her  hands  on  the  head  of  the  unfortu- 
nate man,  she  said,  — 

"  God  grant  it  to  you  at  Kamenyets ;  for  you  say  truly,  it 
is  the  one  consolation." 

He  closed  his  eyes  then,  and  began  to  repeat,  — 

"  Oh,  that  is  true,  that  is  true ;  God  repay  you ! " 

That  same  afternoon  they  all  started  for  Kamenyets. 

Basia,  after  she  had  passed  the  gate,  looked  around  long 
and  long  at  that  iortalice,  gleaming  in  the  light  of  the 
evening ;  at  last,  signing  herself  with  the  holy  cross,  she 
said, — 

"  God  grant  that  it  come  to  us  to  return  to  thee,  dear 
Hreptyoff,  with  Michael !  God  grant  that  nothing  worse 
be  waiting  for  us  ! " 

And  two  tears  rolled  down  her  rosy  face.  A  peculiar 
strange  grief  pressed  all  hearts ;  and  they  moved  forward 
in  silence.  Meanwhile  darkness  came. 

They  went  slowly  toward  Kamenyets,  for  the  tabor 
advanced  slowly.  In  it  went  wagons,  herds  of  horses, 
bullocks,  buffaloes,  camels ;  army  servants  watched  over 
the  herds.  Some  of  the  servants  and  soldiers  had  married 


432  PAN   MICHAEL. 

in  Hreptyoff,  hence  there  was  not  a  lack  of  women  in  the 
tabor.  There  were  as  many  troops  as  under  Pan  Adam, 
and  besides,  two  hundred  Hungarian  infantry,  which  body 
the  little  knight  had  equipped  at  his  own  cost,  and  had 
trained.  Basia  was  their  patron  ;  and  Kalushevski,  a  good 
officer,  led  them.  There  were  no  real  Hungarians  in  that 
infantry,  which  was  called  Hungarian  only  because  it  had 
a  Hungarian  uniform.  The  non-commissioned  officers  were 
"  veterans,"  soldiers  of  the  dragoons ;  but  the  ranks  were 
composed  of  robber  bands  which  had  been  sentenced  to 
the  rope.  Life  was  granted  the  men  on  condition  that  they 
would  serve  in  the  infantry,  and  with  loyalty  and  bravery 
efface  their  past  sins.  There  were  not  wanting  among 
them  also  volunteers  who  had  left  their  ravines,  meadows, 
and  similar  robber  haunts,  preferring  to  join  the  service  of 
the  "  Little  Falcon  "  of  Hreptyoff  rather  than  feel  his  sword 
hanging  over  their  heads.  These  men  were  not  over-tract- 
able, and  not  sufficiently  trained  yet ;  but  they  were  brave, 
accustomed  to  .hardships,  dangers,  and  bloodshed.  Basia 
had  an  uncommon  love  for  this  infantry,  as  for  Michael's 
child ;  and  in  the  wild  hearts  of  those  warriors  was  soon 
born  an  attachment  for  the  wonderful  and  kind  lady.  Now 
they  marched  around  her  carriage  with  muskets  on  their 
shoulders  and  sabres  at  their  sides,  proud  to  guard  the 
lady,  ready  to  defend  her  madly  in  case  any  chambul 
should  bar  their  way. 

But  the  road  was  still  free,  for  Pan  Michael  had  more 
foresight  than  others,  and,  besides,  he  had  too  much  love  for 
his  wife  to  expose  her  to  danger  through  delay.  The  journey 
was  made,  therefore,  quietly.  Leaving  Hreptyoff  in  the 
afternoon,  they  journeyed  till  eveuing,  then  all  night;  the 
next  day  in  the  afternoon  they  saw  the  high  cliffs  of 
Kamenyets. 

At  sight  of  them,  and  at  sight  of  the  bastions  of  the 
fort  adorning  the  summits  of  the  cliffs,  great  consolation 
entered  their  hearts  at  once  ;  for  it  seemed  to  them  impos- 
sible that  any  hand  but  God's  own  could  break  that  eagle's 
nest  on  the  summit  of  projecting  cliffs  surrounded  by  the 
loop  of  the  river.  It  was  a  summer  day  and  wonderful. 
The  towers  of  the  churches  looking  out  from  behind  the 
cliffs  were  gleaming  like  gigantic  lights ;  peace,  calm,  and 
gladness  were  on  that  serene  region. 

u  Basia,"  said  Zagloba,  "  more  than  once  the  Pagans  have 
gnawed  those  walls,  and  they  have  always  broken  their 


PAN   MICHAEL.  433 

teeth  on  them.  Ha !  how  many  times  have  I  myself  seen 
how  they  fled,  holding  themselves  by  the  snout,  for  they 
were  in  pain.  God  grant  it  to  be  the  same  this  time  ! " 

"  Surely  it  will,"  said  the  radiant  Basia. 

"  One  of  their  sultans,  Osman,  was  here.  It  was  —  I 
remember  the  case  as  if  to-day  —  in  the  year  1621.  He 
came,  the  pig's  blood,  just  over  there  from  that  side  of  the 
Smotrych,  from  Hotin,  stared,  opened  his  mouth,  looked 
and  looked;  at  last  he  asked,  'But  who  fortified  that 
place  so  ?'  'The  Lord  God,'  answered  the  vizir.  'Then 
let  the  Lord  God  take  it,  for  I  am  not  a  fool ! '  And  he 
turned  back  on  the  spot." 

"  Indeed,  they  turned  back  quickly ! "  put  in  Pan 
Mushalski. 

"They  turned  back  quickly,"  said  Zagloba;  "for  we 
touched  them  up  in  the  flanks  with  spears,  and  after- 
ward the  knighthood  bore  me  on  their  hands  to  Pan 
Lubomirski." 

"  Then  were  you  at  Hotin  ?  "  asked  the  incomparable 
bowman.  "  Belief  fails  me,  when  I  think  where  have  you 
not  been,  and  what  have  you  not  done." 

Zagloba  was  offended  somewhat  and  said :  "  Not  only 
was  I  there,  but  I  received  a  wound,  which  I  can  show  to 
your  eyes,  if  you  are  so  curious ;  I  can  show  it  directly,  but 
at  one  side,  for  it  does  not  become  me  to  boast  of  it  in  the 
presence  of  Pani  Volodyovski." 

The  famous  bowman  knew  at  once  that  Zagloba  was 
making  sport  of  him ;  and  ae  he  did  not  feel  himself  com- 
petent to  overcome  the  old  noble  by  wit,  he  inquired  no 
further,  and  turned  the  conversation. 

"  What  you  say  is  true, "  said  he :  "  when  a  man  is  far 
away,  and  hears  people  saying,  '  Kamenyets  is  not  supplied, 
Kamenyets  will  fall,'  terror  seizes  him  ;  but  when  he  sees 
Kamenyets,  consolation  comes  to  him." 

"  And  besides,  Michael  will  be  in  Kamenyets,"  cried 
Basia. 

"  And  maybe  Pan  Sobieski  will  send  succor." 

"  Praise  be  to  God  !  it  is  not  so  ill  with  us,  not  so  ill.  It 
has  been  worse,  and  we  did  not  yield." 

"  Though  it  were  worse,  the  point  is  in  this,  not  to  lose 
courage.  They  have  not  devoured  us,  and  they  will  not 
while  our  courage  holds  out,"  said  Zagloba. 

Under  the  influence  of  these  cheering  thoughts  they 
grew  silent.  But  Pan  Adam  rode  up  suddenly  to  Basia ; 

as 


434  PAN  MICHAEL. 

his  countenance,  usually  threatening  and  gloomy,  was  now 
smiling  and  calm.  He  had  fixed  his  gazing  eyes  with 
devotion  on  Kamenyets  bathed  in  sunbeams,  and  smiled 
without  ceasing. 

The  two  knights  and  Basia  looked  at  him  with  wonder, 
for  they  could  not  understand  how  the  sight  of  that  fortress 
had  taken  every  weight  from  his  soul  with  such  sudden- 
ness ;  but  he  said,  — 

"  Praise  be  to  the  name  of  the  Lord !  there  was  a  world 
of  suffering,  but  now  gladness  is  near  me  ! "  Here  he  turned 
to  Basia.  "  They  are  both  with  the  mayor,  Tomashevich  ; 
and  it  is  well  that  they  have  hidden  there,  for  in  such  a 
fortress  that  robber  can  do  nothing  to  them." 

"  Of  whom  are  you  speaking  ?  "  asked  Basia,  in  terror. 

«  Of  Zosia  and  Eva." 

"  God  give  you  aid !  "  cried  Zagloba ;  "  do  not  give  way 
to  the  Devil." 

But  Pan  Adam  continued,  "  And  what  they  say  of  my 
father,  that  Azya  killed  him,  is  not  true  either." 

"  His  mind  is  disturbed,"  whispered  Pan  Mushalski. 

"  Permit  me,"  said  Pan  Adam  again ;  "  I  will  hurry  on 
in  advance.  I  am  so  long  without  seeing  them  that  1 
yearn  for  them." 

When  he  had  said  this  he  began  to  nod  his  gigantic 
head  toward  both  sides ;  then  he  pressed  his  horse  with 
his  heels,  and  moved  on.  Pan  Mushalski,  beckoning  to  a 
number  of  dragoons,  followed  him,  so  as  to  keep  an  eye  on 
the  madman.  Basia  hid  her  rosy  face  in  her  hands,  and 
soon  hot  tears  began  to  flow  through  her  fingers. 

"  He  was  as  good  as  gold,  but  such  misfortunes  surpass 
human  power.  Besides^  the  soul  is  not  revived  by  mere 
vengeance." 

Kamenyets  was  seething  with  preparations  for  defence. 
On  the  walls,  in  the  old  castle  and  at  the  gates,  especially 
at  the  Eoman  gates,  "  nations "  inhabiting  the  town 
were  laboring  under  their  mayors,  among  whom  the  Pole 
Tomashevich  took  the  first  place,  and  that  because  of  his 
great  daring  and  his  rare  skill  in  handling  cannon.  At  the 
same  time  Poles,  Russians,  Armenians,  Jews,  and  Gypsies, 
working  with  spades  and  pickaxes,  vied  with  one  another. 
Officers  of  various  regiments  were  overseers  of  the  work ; 
sergeants  and  soldiers  assisted  the  citizens ;  even  nobles 
went  to  work,  forgetting  that  God  had  created  their  hands 
for  the  sabre  alone,  giving  all  other  work  to  people  of 


PAN  MICHAEL  435 

insignificant  estate.  Pan  Humyetski,  the  banneret  of 
Podolia,  gave  an  example  himself  which  roused  tears,  for 
he  brought  stones  with  his  own  hands  in  a  wheelbarrow. 
The  work  was  seething  in  the  town  and  in  the  castle. 
Among  the  crowds  the  Dominicans,  the  Jesuits,  the  breth- 
ren of  Saint  Francis,  and  the  Carmelites  circled  about  among 
the  crowds,  blessing  the  efforts  of  people.  Women  brought 
food  and  drink  to  those  laboring ;  beautiful  Armenian 
women,  the  wives*  and  daughters  of  rich  merchants,  and 
Jewesses  from  Karvaseri,  Jvanyets,  Zinkovtsi,  Dunaigrod, 
attracted  the  eyes  of  the  soldiers. 

But  the  entrance  of  Basia  arrested  the  attention  of  the 
throngs  more  than  all.  There  were  surely  many  women  of 
more  distinction  in  Kamenyets,  but  none  whose  husband 
was  covered  witli  niore  military  glory.  They  had  heard 
also  in  Kamenyets  of  Pani  Volodyovski  herself,  as  of  a 
valiant  lady  who  feared  not  to  dwell  on  a  watch-tower  in 
the  Wilderness  among  wild  people,  who  went  on  expeditions 
with  her  husband,  and  who,  when  carried  away  by  a  Tartar, 
had  been  able  to  overcome  him  and  escape  safely  from  his 
robber  hands.  Her  fame,  therefore,  was  immense.  But  those 
who  did  not  know  her,  and  had  not  seen  her  hitherto, 
imagined  that  she  must  be  some  giantess,  breaking  horse- 
shoes and  crushing  armor.  What  was  their  astonishment 
when  they  saw  a  small,  rosy,  half  childlike  face  ! 

"  Is  that  Pani  Volodyovski  herself,  or  only  her  little 
daughter  ?  "  asked  people  in  the  crowds.  "  Herself," 
answered  those  who  knew  her.  Then  admiration  seized 
citizens,  women,  priests,  the  army.  They  looked  with  no 
less  wonder  on  the  invincible  garrison  of  Hreptyoff,  on  the 
dragoons,  among  whom  Pan  Adam  rode  calmly,  smiling 
with  wandering  eyes,  and  on  the  terrible  faces  of  the  ban- 
dits turned  into  Hungarian  infantry.  But  there  marched 
with  Basia  a  few  hundred  men  who  were  worthy  of  praise, 
soldiers  by  trade ;  courage  came  therefore  to  the  towns- 
people. "  That  is  no  common  power ;  they  will  look  boldly 
into  the  eyes  of  the  Turks,"  cried  the  people  in  the  crowd. 
Some  of  the  citizens,  and  even  of  the  soldiers,  especially  in 
the  regiment  of  Bishop  Trebitski,  which  regiment  had  come 
recently  to  Kamenyets,  thought  that  Pan  Michael  himself 
was  in  the  retinue,  therefore  they  raised  cries,  — 

"  Long  live  Pan  Volodyovski !  " 

"  Long  live  our  defender !     The  most  famous  cavalier ! " 

"  Vivat  Volodyovski !  vivat ! " 


436  PAN  MICHAEL. 

Basia  listened,  and  her  heart  rose;  for  nothing  can  be 
dearer  to  a  woman  than  the  fame  of  her  husband,  especially 
when  it  is  sounding  in  the  mouths  of  people  in  a  great  city. 
"There  are  so  many  knights  here,"  thought  Basia,  "and 
still  they  do  not  shout  to  any  but  my  Michael."  And  she 
wanted  to  shout  herself  in  the  chorus,  "  Vivat  Volodyovski ! " 
but  Zagloba  told  her  that  she  should  bear  herself  like  a 
person  of  distinction,  and  bow  on  both  sides,  as  queens  do 
when  they  are  entering  a  capital.  And  he,  too,  saluted, 
now  with  his  cap,  now  with  his  hand;  and  when  acquaint- 
ances began  to  cry  "vivat"  in  his  honor,  he  answered  to 
the  crowds,  — 

"  Gracious  gentlemen,  he  who  endured  Zbaraj  will  hold 
out  in  Kamenyets  !  " 

According  to  Pan  Michael's  instructions,  the  retinue  went 
to  the  newly  built  cloister  of  the  Dominican  nuns.  The 
little  knight  had  his  own  house  in  Kamenyets ;  but  since 
the  cloister  was  in  a  retired  place  which  cannon-balls  could 
hardly  reach,  he  preferred  to  place  his  dear  Basia  there,  all 
the  more  since  he  expected  a  good  reception  as  a  benefactor 
of  the  cloister.  In  fact,  the  abbess,  Mother  Victoria,  the 
daughter  of  Stefan  Pototski,  voevoda  of  Bratslav,  received 
Basia  with  open  arms.  From  the  embraces  of  the  abbess 
she  went  at  once  to  others,  and  greatly  beloved  ones,  —  to 
those  of  her  aunt,  Pani  Makovetski,  whom  she  had  not  seen 
for  some  years.  Both  women  wept ;  and  Pan  Makovetski, 
whose  favorite  Basia  had  always  been,  wept  too.  Barely 
had  they  dried  these  tears  of  tenderness  when  in  rushed 
Krysia  Ketling,  and  new  greetings  began ;  then  Basia  was 
surrounded  by  the  nuns  and  noble  women,  known  and  un- 
known,— Pani  Bogush,  Pani  Stanislavski,  Pani  Kalinovski, 
Pani  Hotsimirski,  Pani  Humyetski,  the  wife  of  the  ban- 
neret of  Podolia,  a  great  cavalier.  Some,  like  Pani  Bogush, 
inquired  about  their  husbands ;  others  asked  what  Basia 
thought  of  the  Turkish  invasion,  and  whether,  in  her  opin- 
ion, Kamenyets  would  hold  out.  Basia  saw  with  great 
delight  that  they  looked  on  her  as  having  some  military 
authority,  and  expected  consolation  from  her  lips.  There- 
fore she  was  not  niggardly  in  giving. 

" No  one  says,"  replied  she,  "that  we  cannot  hold  out 
against  the  Turks.  Michael  will  be  here  to-day  or  to- 
morrow, at  furthest  in  a  couple  of  days ;  and  when  he  occu- 
pies himself  with  the  defences,  you  ladies  may  sleep  quietly. 
Besides,  the  fortress  is  tremendously  strong;  in  this  mat- 
ter, thank  God,  I  have  some  knowledge." 


PAN   MICHAEL.  437 

The  confidence  of  Basia  poured  consolation  into  the  hearts 
of  the  women ;  they  were  reassured  specially  by  the  promise 
of  Pan  Michael's  arrival.  Indeed,  his  name  was  so  respected 
that,  though  it  was  evening,  officers  of  the  place  began  to 
come  at  once  with  greetings  to  Basia.  After  the  first  salu- 
tations, each  inquired  when  the  little  knight  would  come, 
and  if  really  he  intended  to  shut  himself  up  in  Kanieuyets. 
Basia  received  only  Major  Kvasibrotski,  who  led  the  in- 
fantry of  the  Bishop  of  Cracow ;  the  secretary,  Revuski, 
who  succeeded  Pan  Lanchynski,  or  rather,  occupied  his 
place,  was  at  the  head  of  the  regiment,  and  Ketling.  The 
doors  were  not  open  to  others  that  day,  for  the  lady  was 
road-weary,  and,  besides,  she  had  to  occupy  herself  with 
Pan  Adam.  That  unfortunate  young  man  had  fallen  from 
his  horse  before  the  very  cloister,  and  was  carried  to  a  cell 
in  unconsciousness.  They  sent  at  once  for  the  doctor,  the 
same  who  had  cured  Basia  at  Hreptyoff.  The  doctor 
declared  that  there  was  a  serious  disease  of  the  brain,  and 
gave  little  hope  of  Pan  Adam's  recovery. 

Basia,  Pan  Mushalski,  and  Zagloba  talked  till  late  in  the 
evening  about  that  event,  and  pondered  over  the  unhappy 
lot  of  the  knight. 

"  The  doctor  told  me,"  said  Zagloba,  "  that  if  he  recovers 
and  is  bled  copiously,  his  mind  will  not  be  disturbed,  and 
he  will  bear  misfortune  with  a  lighter  heart." 

"There  is  no  consolation  for  him  now,"  said  Basia. 

"  Often  it  would  be  better"  for  a  man  not  to  have  mem- 
ory," remarked  Pan  Mushalski ;  "  but  even  animals  are  not 
free  from  it." 

Here  the  old  man  called  the  famous  bowman  to  account 
for  that  remark. 

"  If  you  had  no  memory  you  could  n't  go  to  confession," 
said  he ;  "  and  you  would  be  the  same  as  a  Lutheran,  deserv- 
ing hell-fire.  Father  Kaminski  has  warned  you  already 
against  blasphemy;  but  say  the  Lord's  prayer  to  a  wolf, 
and  the  wolf  would  rather  be  eating  a  sheep." 

"What  sort  of  wolf  am  I?"  asked  the  famous  bowman. 
"  There  was  Azya ;  he  was  a  wolf." 

"Didn't  I  say  that?"  asked  Zagloba.  "Who  was  the 
first  to  say,  that 's  a  wolf  ?  " 

"  Pan  Adam  told  me,"  said  Basia,  "  that  day  and  night  he 
hears  Eva  and  Zosia  calling  to  him  'save ; '  and  how  can  he 
save  ?  It  had  to  end  in  sickness,  for  no  man  can  endure 
such  pain.  He  could  survive  their  death;  he  cannot  survive 
their  shame." 


438  PAN   MICHAEL. 

"  He  is  lying  now  like  a  block  of  wood ;  he  knows  nothing 
of  God's  world,"  said  Pan  Mushalski ;  "  and  it  is  a  pity,  for 
in  battle  he  was  splendid." 

Further  conversation  was  interrupted  by  a  servant,  who 
announced  that  there  was  a  great  noise  in  the  town,  for  the 
people  were  assembling  to  look  at  the  starosta  of  Podolia, 
who  was  just  making  his  entrance  with  a  considerable 
escort  and  some  tens  of  infantry. 

"  The  command  belongs  to  him,"  said  Zagloba.  "  It  is 
valiant  on  the  part  of  Pan  Pototski  to  prefer  this  to  another 
place,  but  as  of  old  I  would  that  he  were  not  here.  He  is 
opposed  to  the  hetman  ;  he  did  not  believe  in  the  war ;  and 
now  who  knows  whether  it  will  not  come  to  him  to  lay 
down  his  head." 

"  Perhaps  other  Pototskis  will  march  in  after  him,"  said 
Pan  Mushalski. 

"  It  is  evident  that  the  Turks  are  not  distant,"  answered 
Zagloba.  "In  the  name  of  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy 
Ghost,  God  grant  the  starosta  of  Podolia  to  be  a  second 
Yeremi,  and  Karnenyets  a  second  Zbaraj  !  " 

'•'  It  must  be ;  if  not,  we  shall  die  first,"  said  a  voice  at 
the  threshold. 

Basia  sprang  up  at  the  sound  of  that  voice,  and  crying 
"Michael !  "  threw  herself  into  the  little  knight's  arms. 

Pan  Michael  brought  from  the  field  much  important 
news,  which  he  related  to  his  wife  in  the  quiet  cell  before 
he  communicated  it  to  the  military  council.  He  had  de- 
stroyed utterly  a  number  of  smaller  chambuls,  and  had 
whirled  around  the  Crimean  camp  and  that  of  Doroshenko 
with  great  glory  to  himself.  He  had  brought  also  some 
tens  of  prisoners,  from  whom  they  might  select  informants 
as  to  the  power  of  the  Khan  and  Doroshenko. 

But  other  men  had  less  success.  The  starosta  of  Pod- 
lyasye,  at  the  head  of  considerable  forces,  was  destroyed  in 
a  murderous  battle ;  Motovidlo  was  beaten  by  Krychinski, 
who  pursued  him  to  the  Wallachian  trail,  with  the  aid  of 
the  Belgrod  horde  and  those  Tartars  who  survived  Pan 
Adam's  victory  at  Tykich.  Before  coming  to  Kamenyets, 
Pan  Michael  turned  aside  to  Hreptyoff,  wishing,  as  he  said, 
to  look  again  on  that  scene  of  his  happiness. 

"  I  was  there,"  said  he,  "  right  after  your  departure ;  the 
place  had  not  grown  cold  yet,  and  I  might  have  come  up 
with  you  easily,  but  I  crossed  over  to  the  Moldavian  bank 
at  Ushytsa,  to  put  my  ear  toward  the  steppe.  Some 


PAN  MICHAEL.  439 

chambuls  have  crossed  already,  but  are  afraid  that  if  they 
come  out  at  Pokuta,  they  will  strike  on  people  unexpec- 
tedly. Others  are  moving  in  front  of  the  -Turkish  army, 
and  will  be  here  soon.  There  will  be  a  siege,  my  dove,  — 
there  is  no  help  for  it ;  but  we  will  not  surrender,  for  here 
every  one  is  defending  not  only  the  country,  but  his  own 
private  property." 

When  he  had  said  this,  he  took  his  wife  by  the  shoul- 
ders, and  kissed  her  on  the  cheeks ;  that  day  they  talked  no 
more  with  each  other. 

Next  morning  Pan  Michael  repeated  his  news  at  Bishop 
Lantskoronski's  before  the  council  of  war,  which,  besides 
the  bishop,  was  formed  of  Pan  Mikolai  Pototski,  starosta 
of  Podolia,  Pan  Lantskoronski,  chamberlain  of  Podolia, 
Pan  Revuski,  secretary  of  Podolia,  Pan  Humyetski,  Ket- 
ling,  Makovetski,  Major  Kvasibrotski,  and  a  number  of 
other  officers.  To  begin  with,  Volodyovski  was  not  pleased 
with  the  declaration  of  Pan  Pototski,  that  he  would  not 
take  the  command  on  himself,  but  confide  it  to  a  council. 

"  In  sudden  emergencies,  there  must  be  one  head  and 
one  will,"  said  the  little  knight.  "At  Zbaraj  there  were 
three  men  to  whom  command  belonged  by  office,  still 
they  gave  it  to  Prince  Yeremi,  judging  rightly  that  in 
danger  it  is  better  to  obey  one." 

These  words  were  without  effect.  In  vain  did  the 
learned  Ketling  cite,  as  an  example,  the  Romans,  who, 
being  the  greatest  warriors  in  the  world,  invented  dictator- 
ship. Bishop  Lantskoronski,  who  did  not  like  Ketling,  — 
for  he  had  fixed  in  his  mind,  it  is  unknown  why,  that,  being 
a  Scot  by  origin,  Ketling  must  be  a  heretic  at  the  bottom 
of  his  soul,  —  retorted  that  the  Poles  did  not  need  to  learn 
history  from  immigrants  ;  they  had  their  own  mind  too, 
and  did  not  need  to  imitate  the  Romans,  to  whom  they 
were  not  inferior  in  bravery  and  eloquence,  or  if  they  were, 
it  was  very  little.  "  As  there  is  more  blaze,"  said  tho 
bishop,  "  from  an  armful  of  wood  than  from  one  stick,  so 
there  is  more  watchfulness  in  many  heads  than  in  one." 
Herewith  he  praised  the  "  modesty "  of  Pan  Pototski, 
though  others  understood  it  to  be  rather  fear  of  responsi- 
bility, and  from  himself  he  advised  negotiations. 

When  this  word  was  uttered,  the  soldiers  sprang  from 
their  seats  as  if  scalded.  Pan  Michael,  Ketling,  Mako- 
vetski, Kvasibrotski,  set  their  teeth  and  touched  their 
sabres.  "But  I  believe,"  said  voices,  "that  we  did  not 


440  PAN  MICHAEL. 

corne  here  for  negotiations  ! "  "  His  robe  protects  the  nego- 
tiator ! "  cried  Kvasibrotski ;  "  the  church  is  your  place, 
not  this  council !  "  and  there  was  an  uproar. 

Thereupon  the  bishop  rose  and  said  in  a  loud  voice  :  "  I 
should  be  the  first  to  give  my  life  for  the  church  and 
my  flock ;  but  if  I  have  mentioned  negotiations  and  wish  to 
temporize,  God  be  my  judge,  it  is  not  because  I  wish 
to  surrender  the  fortress,  but  to  win  time  for  the  hetmau 
to  collect  reinforcements.  The  name  of  Pan  Sobieski  is 
terrible  to  the  Pagans ;  and  though  he  has  not  forces  suffi- 
cient, still  let  the  report  go  abroad  that  he  is  advancing, 
and  the  Mussulman  will  leave  Kamenyets  soon  enough." 
And  since  he  spoke  so  powerfully,  all  were  silent ;  some 
were  even  rejoiced,  seeing  that  the  bishop  had  not  sur- 
render in  his  mind. 

Pan  Michael  spoke  next :  "  The  enemy,  before  he  besieges 
Kamenyets,  must  crush  Jvanyets,  for  he  cannot  leave  a 
defensive  castle  behind  his  shoulders.  Therefore,  with 
permission  of  the  starosta,  I  will  undertake  to  enclose 
myself  in  Jvanyets,  and  hold  it  during  the  time  which 
the  bishop  wishes  to  gain  through  negotiations.  I  will 
take  trusty  men  with  me ;  and  Jvanyets  will  last  while 
my  life  lasts." 

Whereupon  all  cried  out :  "  Impossible  !  You  are  needed 
here  !  Without  you  the  citizens  will  lose  courage,  and 
the  soldiers  will  not  fight  with  such  willingness.  In  no 
way.  -is  it  possible !  Who  has  more  experience  ?  Who 
passed  through  Zbaraj  ?  And  when  it  comes  to  sorties, 
who  will  lead  the  men  ?  You  would  be  destroyed  in 
Jvanyets,  and  we  should  be  destroyed  here  without  you." 

"The  command  has  disposal  of  me,"  answered  Pan 
Michael. 

"  Send  to  Jvanyets  some  daring  young  man,  who  would 
be  my  assistant,"  said  the  chamberlain  of  Podolia. 

"  Let  Novoveski  go !  "  said  a  number  of  voices. 

"Novoveski  cannot  go,  for  his  head  is  burning,"  an- 
swered Pan  Michael ;  "  he  is  lying  on  his  bed,  and  knows 
nothing  of  God's  world." 

"  Meanwhile,  let  us  decide,"  said  the  bishop,  "  where 
each  is  to  have  his  place,  and  what  gate  he  is  to  defend. " 

All  eyes  were  turned  to  the  starosta,  who  said :  "  Before  I 
issue  the  commands,  I  am  glad  to  hear  the  opinions  of 
experienced  soldiers ;  since  Pan  Volodyovski  here  is  superior 
in  military  experience,  I  call  on  him  first." 


PAN  MICHAEL.  441 

Pan  Michael  advised,  first  of  all,  to  put  good  garrisons 
in  the  castles  before  the  town,  for  he  thought  that  the 
main  force  of  the  enemy  would  be  turned  specially  on 
them.  Others  followed  his  opinion.  There  were  sixteen 
hundred  men  of  infantry,  and  these  were  disposed  in  such 
manner  that  Pan  Myslishevski  occupied  the  right  side  of 
the  castle ;  the  left,  Pan  Humyetski,  famous  for  his  exploits 
at  Hotin.  Pan  Michael  took  the  most  dangerous  position 
on  the  side  toward  Hotin ;  lower  down  was  placed  Serd- 
yuk's  division.  Major  Kvasibrotski  covered  the  side  toward 
Zinkovtsi ;  the  south  was  held  by  Pan  Vansovich ;  and  the 
side  next  the  court  by  Captain  Bukar,  with  Pan  Krasinski's 
men.  These  were  not  volunteers  indifferent  in  quality, 
but  soldiers  by  profession,  excellent,  and  in  battle  so  firm 
that  artillery  fire  was  no  more  to  them  than  the  sun's  heat 
toother  men.  Serving  in  the  armies  of  the  Commonwealth, 
which  were  always  small  in  number,  they  were  accustomed 
from  youthful  years  to  resist  an  enemy  of  ten  times  their 
force,  and  considered  this  as  something  natural.  The 
general  management  of  the  artillery  of  the  castle  was 
under  Ketliug,  who  surpassed  all  in  the  art  of  aiming  can- 
non. Chief  command  in  the  castle  was  to  be  with  the 
little  knight,  with  whom  the  starosta  left  the  freedom  of 
making  sorties  as  often  as  there  should  be  need  and 
possibility. 

These  men,  knowing  now  where  each  would  stand,  were 
rejoiced  heartily,  and  raised  a  considerable  shout,  shaking 
their  sabres  at  the  same  time.  Thus  they  showed  their 
willingness.  Hearing  this,  the  starosta  said  to  his  own 
soul,  — 

"  I  did  not  believe  that  we  could  defend  ourselves,  and 
I  came  here  without  faith,  listening  only  to  my  conscience; 
who  knows,  however,  but  we  may  repulse  the  enemy  with 
such  soldiers  ?  The  glory  will  fall  on  me,  and  they  will 
herald  me  as  a  second  Yeremi ;  in  such  an  event  it  may  be 
that  a  fortunate  star  has  brought  me  to  this  place." 

And  as  before  he  had  doubted  of  the  defence,  so  now 
he  doubted  of  the  capture  of  Kamenyets ;  hence  his  courage 
increased,  and  he  began  to  advise  more  readily  the 
strengthening  of  the  town. 

It  was  decided  to  station  Pan  Makovetski  at  the  Russian 
gate,  in  the  town  itself,  with  a  handful  of  nobles,  Polish 
towns-people,  more  enduring  in  battle  than  others,  and 
with  them  a  few  tens  of  Armenians  and  Jews.  The  Lutsk 


442  PAN  MICHAEL. 

gate  was  confided  to  Pan  Grodetski,  with  whom  Pan  Juk 
and  Pan  Matchynski  took  command  of  artillery.  The 
guard  of  the  square  before  the  town-house  was  commanded 
by  Lukash  Dzevanovski ;  Pan  Hotsimirski  had  command  of 
the  noisy  Gypsies  at  the  Russian  gate.  From  the  bridge 
to  the  house  of  Pan  Sinitski,  the  guards  were  commanded 
by  Pan  Kazirnir  Humyetski.  And  farther  on  were  to  have 
their  quarters  Pan  Stanishevski,  and  at  the  Polish  gate 
Pan  Martsin  Bogush,  and  at  the  Spij  bastion  Pan  Skar- 
zinski,  and  Pan  Yatskovski  there  at  the  side  of  the 
Byaloblotski  embrasures ;  Pan  Dubravski  and  Pan  Pye- 
trashevski  occupied  the  butcher's  bastion.  The  grand 
intrenchment  of  the  town  was  given  to  Tomashevich,  the 
Polish  mayor,  the  smaller  to  Pan  Yatskovski ;  there  was 
an  order  to  dig  a  third  one,  from  which  later  a  certain 
Jew,  a  skilful  gunner,  annoyed  the  Turks  greatly. 

These  arrangements  made,  all  the  council  went  to  sup 
with  the  starosta,  who  at  that  entertainment  honored  Pan 
Michael  particularly  with  place,  wine,  food,  and  conversa- 
tion, foreseeing  that  for  his  action  in  the  siege  posterity 
would  add  to  the  title  of  "  Little  Knight "  that  of  "  Hector 
of  Kainenyets."  Volodyovski  declared  that  he  wished  to 
serve  earnestly,  and  in  view  of  that  intended  to  make  a 
certain  vow  in  the  cathedral ;  hence  he  prayed  the  bishop 
to  let  him  make  it  on  the  morrow. 

The  bishop,  seeing  that  public  profit  might  come  from 
the  vow,  promised  willingly. 

Next  morning  there  was  a  solemn  service  in  the  cathe- 
dral. Knights,  nobles,  soldiers,  and  common  people  heard 
it  with  devotion  and  elevation  of  spirit.  Pan  Michael 
and  Ketling  lay  each  in  the  form  of  a  cross  before  the 
altar ;  Krysia  and  Basia  were  kneeling  near  by  beyond 
the  railing,  weeping,  for  they  knew  that  that  vow  might 
bring  danger  to  the  lives  of  their  husbands. 

At  the  end  of  Mass,  the  bishop  turned  to  the  people  with 
the  monstrance  ;  then  the  little  knight  rose,  and  kneeling 
on  the  steps  of  the  altar,  said  with  a  moved  but  calm 
voice,  — 

"  Feeling  deep  gratitude  for  the  special  benefactions  and 
particular  protection  which  I  have  received  from  the  Lord 
God  the  Most  High,  and  from  His  only  Son,  I  vow  and 
take  oath  that  as  He  and  His  Son  have  aided  me,  so  will  I 
to  my  last  breath  defend  the  Holy  Cross.  And  since 
command  of  the  old  castle  is  confided  to  me,  while  I  am 


PAN  MICHAEL.  443 

alive  and  can  move  hands  and  feet,  I  will  not  admit  to  the 
castle  the  Pagan  enemy,  who  live  in  vileness,  nor  will  I 
leave  the  wall,  nor  will  I  raise  a  white  rag,  even  should  it 
come  to  me  to  be  buried  there  under  ruins.  So  help  me 
God  and  the  Holy  Cross  !  Amen ! " 

A  solemn  silence  reigned  in  the  church ;  then  the  voice 
of  Ketling  was  heard. 

"I  promise,"  said  he,  "for  the  particular  benefactions 
which  I  have  experienced  in  this  fatherland,  to  defend  the 
castle  to  the  last  drop  of  my  blood,  and  to  bury  myself 
under  its  ruins,  rather  than  let  a  foot  of  the  enemy  enter 
its  walls.  And  as  I  take  this  oath  with  a  clean  heart  and 
out  of  pure  gratitude,  so  help  me  God  and  the  Holy  Cross ! 
Amen ! " 

Here  the  bishop  held  down  the  monstrance,  and  gave  it 
to  Volodyovski  to  kiss,  then  to  Ketling.  At  sight  of  this 
the  numerous  knights  in  the  church  raised  a  buzz.  Voices 
were  heard  :  "  We  will  all  swear  ! "  "  We  will  lie  one  upon 
another!"  "This  fortress  will  not  fall!"  "We  will 
swear  !  "  "  Amen,  amen,  amen  !  "  Sabres  and  rapiers  came 
out  with  a  gritting  from  the  scabbard,  and  the  church 
became  bright  from  the  steel.  That  gleam  shone  on  threat- 
ening faces  and  glittering  eyes  j  a  great,  indescribable  en- 
thusiasm seized  the  nobles,  soldiers,  and  people.  Then 
all  the  bells  were  sounded ;  the  organ  roared ;  the  bishop 
intoned,  "  Sub  Tuum  presidium ; "  a  hundred  voices  thun- 
dered in  answer;  and  thus  they  prayed  for  that  fortress 
which  was  the  watchtower  of  Christendom  and  the  key  of 
the  Commonwealth. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  service  Ketling  and  Pan  Michael 
went  out  of  the  church  hand  in  hand.  Blessings  and 
praise  were  given  them  on  the  way,  for  no  one  doubted 
that  they  would  die  rather  than  surrender  the  castle.  Not 
death,  however,  but  victory  and  glory  seemed  to  float  over 
them;  and  it  is  likely  that  among  all  those  people  they 
alone  knew  how  terrible  the  oath  was  with  which  they  had 
bound  themselves.  Perhaps  also  two  loving  hearts  had  a 
presentiment  of  the  destruction  which  was  hanging  over 
their  heads,  for  neither  Basia  nor  Krysia  could  gain  self- 
composure  ;  and  when  at  last  Pan  Michael  found  himself  in 
the  cloister  with  his  wife,  she,  choking  from  tears,  and 
sobbing  like  a  little  child,  nestled  up  to  his  breast,  and  said 
in  a  broken  voice,  — 

"Remember — Michael  —  God  keep  misfortune  from  you 
—  I  —  I  —  know  not  what  —  will  become  of  me  !  " 


444  PAN   MICHAEL. 

And  she  began  to  tremble  from  emotion  •  the  little  knight 
was  moved  greatly  too.  After  a  time  he  said,  — 

"  But,  Basia,  it  was  necessary." 

"  I  would  rather  die ! "  said  Basia. 

Hearing  this,  the  little  knight's  mustaches  quivered  more 
and  more  quickly,  and  he  repeated  a  number  of  times,  — 

"  Quiet,  Basia,  quiet."  Then  at  last  he  said,  to  calm  the 
woman  loved  above  all,  — 

"And  do  you  remember  that  when  the  Lord  God 
brought  you  back  to  me,  I  said  thus,  '  Whatever  return  is 
proper,  0  Lord  God,  I  promise  Thee.  After  the  war,  if  I 
am  alive,  I  will  build  a  chapel ;  but  during  the  war  I  must 
do  something  noteworthy,  so  as  not  to  feed  Thee  with 
ingratitude '  ?  What  is  a  castle  ?  It  is  little  for  such  a 
benefaction.  The  time  has  come.  Is  it  proper  that  the 
Saviour  should  say  to  Himself,  'His  promise  is  a  play- 
thing '  ?  May  the  stones  of  the  castle  crush  me  before  I 
break  my  word  of  a  cavalier,  given  to  God.  It  is  neces- 
sary, Basia ;  and  that  is  the  whole  thing.  Let  us  trust  in 
God,  Basia." 


PAN  MJCHAEL.  445 


CHAPTER   LII. 

THAT  day  Pan  Michael  went  out  with  squadrons  to  assist 
Pan  Vasilkovski,  who  had  hastened  on  toward  Hrynchuk, 
for  news  ^arne  that  the  Tartars  had  made  an  attack  there, 
binding  people,  taking  cattle,  but  not  burning  villages,  so 
as  not  to  rouse  attention.  Pan  Vasilkovski  soon  scattered 
them,  rescued  the  captives,  and  took  prisoners.  Pan 
Michael  led  these  prisoners  to  Jvanyets,  commissioning  Pan 
Makovetski  to  torture  them,  and  write  down  in  order  their 
confessions,  so  as  to  forward  them  to  the  hetman  and  the 
king.  The  Tartars  confessed  that,  at  command  of  the 
perkulab,  they  had  crossed  the  boundary  with  Captain 
Styngan  and  Wallachians ;  but  though  burnt,  they  could 
not  tell  how  far  away  the  Sultan  was  at  that  time  with 
all  his  forces,  for,  advancing  in  irregular  bands,  they  did 
not  maintain  connection  with  the  main  army. 

All,  however,  were  at  one  in  the  statement  that  the 
Sultan  had  moved  in  force,  that  he  was  marching  to  the 
Commonwealth,  and  would  be  at  Kamenyets  soon.  For 
the  future  defenders  of  Kamenyets  there  was  nothing  new 
in  these  confessions ;  but  since  in  the  king's  palace  they 
did  not  believe  that  there  would  be  war,  the  chamberlain 
determined  to  send  these  prisoners,  together  with  their 
statements,  to  Warsaw. 

The  scouting  parties  returned  in  good  spirits  from  their 
first  expedition.  In  the  evening  came  the  secretary  of 
Habareskul,  Pan  Michael's  Tartar  brother,  and  the  senior 
perkulab  of  Hotin.  He  brought  no  letters,  for  the  perku- 
lab was  afraid  to  write  ;  but  he  gave  command  to  tell  his 
brother  Volodyovski,  "  the  sight  of  his  eye  and  the  love  of 
his  heart,"  to  be  on  his  guard,  and  if  Kamenyets  had  not 
troops  enough  for  defence,  to  leave  the  town  under  some 
pretext,  for  the  Sultan  had  been  expected  for  two  days 
with  his  whole  force  in  Hotin. 

Pan  Michael  sent  his  thanks  to  the  perkulab,  and  re- 
warding the  secretary,  sent  him  home ;  he  informed  the 
commandants  immediately  of  the  approaching  danger.  Ac- 
tivity on  works  in  the  town  was  redoubled ;  Pan  Hieronim 


446  PAN  MICHAEL. 

Lantskoronski  moved  without  a  moment's  delay  to  his 
Jvanyets,  to  have  an  eye  on  Hotin. 

Some  time  passed  in  waiting ;  at  last,  on  the  second  day 
of  August,  the  Sultan  halted  at  Hotin.  His  regiments 
spread  out  like  a  sea  without  shores ;  and  at  sight  of  the 
last  town  lying  within  the  Padishah's  dominions,  Allah ! 
Allah  !  was  wrested  from  hundreds  of  thousands  of  throats. 
On  the  other  side  of  the  Dniester  lay  the  'defenceless 
Commonwealth,  which  those  countless  armies  were  to  cover 
like  a  deluge,  or  devour  like  a  flame.  Throngs  of  warriors, 
unable  to  find  places  in  the  town,  disposed  themselves  on 
the  fields,  —  on  those  same  fields,  where  some  tens  of  years 
earlier,  Polish  sabres  had  scattered  an  equally  numerous 
army  of  the  Prophet.  It  seemed  now  that  the  hour  of 
revenge  had  come ;  and  no  one  in  those  wild  legions,  from 
the  Sultan  to  the  camp  servant,  had  a  feeling  that  for  the 
Crescent  those  fields  would  be  ill-omened  a  second  time. 
Hope,  nay,  even  certainty  of  victory  rejoiced  every  heart. 
Janissaries  and  spahis,  crowds  of  general  militia  from  the 
Balkans,  from  the  mountains  of  Rhodope,  from  Eumelia, 
from  Pelion  and  Ossa,  from  Carmel  and  Lebanon,  from  the 
deserts  of  Arabia,  from  the  banks  of  the  Tigris,  from  the 
plains  of  the  Nile,  and  the  burning  sands  of  Africa,  giving 
out  wild  shouts,  prayed  to-  be  led  at  once  to  the  "  infidel 
bank."  But  muezzins  began  to  call  from  the  minarets  of 
Hotin  to  prayer ;  therefore  all  were  silent.  A  sea  of  heads 
in  turbans,  caps,  fezes,  burnooses,  kefis,  and  steel  helmets 
inclined  toward  the  earth  ;  and  through  the  fields  went  the 
deep  murmur  of  prayer,  like  the  sound  of  countless  swarms 
of  bees,  and  borne  by  the  wind,  it  flew  forward  over  the 
Dniester  toward  the  Commonwealth. 

Then  drums,  trumpets,  and  pipes  were  heard,  giving 
notice  of  rest.  Though  the  armies  had  marched  slowly  and 
comfortably,  the  Padishah  wished  to  give  them,  after  the 
long  journey  from  Adrianople,  a  rest  at  the  river.  He  per- 
formed ablutions  himself  in  a  clear  spring  flowing  not  far 
from  the  town,  and  rode  thence  to  the  konak  of  Hotin; 
but  on  the  fields  they  began  to  pitch  tents  which  soon 
covered,  as  with  snow,  the  immeasurable  extent  of  the 
country  about. 

The  day  was  beautiful,  and  ended  serenely.  After  the 
last  evening  prayers,  the  camp  went  to  rest.  Thousands 
and  hundreds  of  thousands  of  fires  were  gleaming.  From 
the  small  castle  opposite,  in  Jvanyets,  men  looked  on  the 


PAN  MICHAEL.  447 

light  of  these  fires  with  alarm,  for  they  were  so  wide-spread 
that  the  soldiers  who  went  to  reconnoitre  said  in  their 
account,  "It  seemed  to  us  that  all  Moldavia  was  under  the 
fires."  But  as  the  bright  moon  rose  higher  in  the  starry 
sky,  all  died  out  save  the  watch-fires,  the  camp  became 
quiet,  and  amid  the  silence  of  the  night  were  heard  only 
the  neighing  of  horses  and  the  bellowing  of  buffaloes,  feed- 
ing on  the  meadows  of  Taraban. 

But  next  morning,  at  daybreak,  the  Sultan  commanded 
the  janissaries  and  Tartars  to  cross  the  Dniester,  and  occupy 
Jvanyets,  the  town  as  well  as  the  castle.  The  manful  Pan 
Hieronim  Lantskoronski  did  not  wait  behind  the  walls  for 
them,  but  having  at  his  side  forty  Tartars,  eighty  men  of 
Kieff,  and  one  squadron  of  his  own,  struck  on  the  janissa- 
ries at  the  crossing ;  and  in  spite  of  a  rattling  fire  from  their 
muskets,  he  broke  that  splendid  infantry,  and  they  began  to 
withdraw  toward  the  river  in  disorder.  But  meanwhile,  the 
chambul,  reinforced  by  Lithuanian  Tartars,  who  had  crossed 
at  the  flank,  broke  into  the  town.  Smoke  and  cries  warned 
the  brave  chamberlain  that  the  place  was  in  the  hands  of  the 
enemy.  He  gave  command,  therefore,  to  withdraw  from 
the  crossing,  and  succor  the  hapless  inhabitants.  The  janis- 
saries, being  infantry,  could  not  pursue,  and  he  went  at  full 
speed  to  the  rescue.  He  was  just  coming  up,  when,  on  a 
sudden,  his  own  Tartars  threw  down  their  flag,  and  went 
over  to  the  enemy.  A  moment  of  great  peril  followed. 
The  chambul,  aided  by  the  traitors,  and  thinking  that 
treason  would  bring  confusion,  struck  hand  to  hand,  with 
great  force,  on  the  chamberlain.  Fortunately,  the  men  of 
Kieff,  roused  by  the  example  of  their  leader,  gave  violent 
resistance.  The  squadron  broke  the  enemy,  who  were  not 
in  condition  to  meet  regular  Polish  cavalry.  T'.e  ground 
before  the  bridge  was  soon  covered  with  corpses,  especially 
of  Lithuanian  Tartars,  who,  more  enduring  than  ordinary 
men  of  the  horde,  kept  the  field.  Many  of  them  were  cut 
down  in  the  streets  later  on.  Lantskoronski,  seeing  that 
the  janissaries  were  approaching  from  the  water,  sent  to 
Kamenyets  for  succor,  and  withdrew  behind  the  walls. 

The  Sultan  had  not  thought  of  taking  the  castle  of  Jvan- 
yets that  day,  thinking  justly  that  he  could  crush  it  in  the 
twinkle  of  an  eye,  at  the  general  crossing  of  the  armies. 
He  wished  only  to  occupy  that  point ;  and  supposing  the 
detachments  which  he  sent  to  be  amply  sufficient,  he  sent 
no  more,  either  of  the  janissaries  or  the  horde.  Those  who 


448  PAN  MICHAEL. 

were  on  the  other  bank  of  the  river  occupied  the  place  a 
second  time  after  the  squadron  had  withdrawn  behind  the 
walls.  They  did  not  burn  the  town,  so  that  it  might  serve 
in  future  as  a  refuge  for  their  own,  or  for  other  detach- 
ments, and  began  to  work  in  it  with  sabres  and  daggers. 
The  janissaries  seized  young  women  in  soldier  fashion ;  the 
husbands  and  children  they  cut  down  with  axes ;  the 
Tartars  were  occupied  in  taking  plunder. 

At  that  time  the  Poles  saw  from  the  bastion  of  the  castle 
that  cavalry  was  approaching  from  the  direction  of  Kainen- 
yets.  Hearing  this,  Lantskoronski  went  out  on  the  bastion 
himself,  with  a  field-glass,  and  looked  long  and  carefully. 
At  last  he  said,  — 

"  That  is  light  cavalry  from  the  Hreptyoff  garrison  ;  the 
same  cavalry  with  which  Vasilkovski  went  to  Hrynchuk. 
Clearly  they  have  sent  him  out  this  time.  I  see  volunteers. 
It  must  be  Humyetski ! 

"  Praise  be  to  God  !  "  cried  he,  after  a  while.  "  Volody- 
ovski  himself  is  there,  for  I  see  dragoons.  Gracious 
gentlemen,  let  us  rush  out  again  from  behind  the  walls,  and 
with  God's  help,  we  will  drive  the  enemy,  not  only  from 
the  town,  but  from  this  side  of  the  river." 

Then  he  ran  down  with  what  breath  he  had,  to  draw  up 
his  men  of  Kieff  and  the  squadron.  Meanwhile  the  Tartars 
first  in  the  town  saw  the  approaching  squadron,  and  shout- 
ing shrilly,  "  Allah  !  "  began  to  gather  in  a  chambul.  Drums 
and  whistles  were  heard  in  all  the  streets.  The  janissaries 
stood  in  order  with  that  quickness  in  which  few  infantry  on 
earth  could  compare  with  them. 

The  chambul  flew  out  of  the  place  as  if  blown  by  a  whirl- 
wind, and  struck  the  light  squadron.  The  chambul  itself, 
not  counting  the  Lithuanian  Tartars,  whom  Lantskoronski 
had  injured  considerably,  was  three  times  more  numerous 
than  the  garrison  of  Jvanyets  and  the  approaching  squadrons 
of  reinforcement,  hence  it  did  not  hesitate  to  spring  on  Pan 
Vasilkovski  ;  but  Pan  Vasilkovski,  a  young,  irrepressible 
man,  who  hurled  himself  against  every  danger  with  as  much 
eagerness  as  blindness,  commanded  his  soldiers  to  go  at 
the  highest  speed,  and  flew  on  like  a  column  of  wind,  not 
even  observing  the'  number  of  the  enemy.  Such  daring 
troubled  the  Tartars,  who  had  no  liking  whatever  for  hand- 
to-hand  combat.  Notwithstanding  the  shouting  of  murzas 
riding  in  the  rear,  the  shrill  whistle  of  pipes,  and  the 
roaring  sound  of  drums  calling  to  "  kesim,"  —  that  is,  to 


PAN   MICHAEL.  449 

hewing  heads  from  unbelievers,  —  they  began  to  rein  in, 
and  hold  back  their  horses.  Evidently  the  hearts  grew 
faint  in  them  every  moment,  as  did  also  their  eagerness. 
Finally,  at  the  distance  of  a  bow-shot  from  the  squadron, 
they  opened  on  two  sides,  and  sent  a  shower  of  arrows  at 
the  on-rushing  cavalry. 

Pan  Vasilkovski,  knowing  nothing  of  the  janissaries,  who 
had  formed  beyond  the  houses  toward  the  river,  rushed 
with  undiminished  speed  behind  the  Tartars,  or  rather 
behind  one  half  the  chambul.  He  came  up,  closed,  and  fell 
to  slashing  down  those  who,  having  inferior  horses,  could 
not  flee  quickly.  The  'second  half  of  the  chambul  turned 
then,  wishing  to  surround  him  ;  but  at  that  moment  the 
volunteers  rushed  up,  and  the  chamberlain  came  with  his 
men  of  Kieft.  The  Tartars,  pressed  on  so  many  sides,  scat- 
tered like  sand,  and  then  began  a  rushing  about,  —  that  is, 
the  pursuit  of  a  group  by  a  group,  of  a  man  by  a  man,  —  in 
which  many  of  the  horde  fell,  especially  by  the  hand  of 
Pan  Vasilkovski,  who  struck  blindly  at  whole  crowds,  just 
as  a  lark-falcon  strikes  sparrows  or  bunting. 

But  Pan  Michael,  a  cool  and  keen  soldier,  did  not  let  the 
dragoons  out  of  his  hand.  Like  a  hunter  who  holds  trained, 
eager  dogs  in  strong  leashes,  not  letting  them  go  at  a 
common  beast,  but  only  when  he  sees  the  flashing  eyes  and 
white  teeth  of  a  savage  old  boar,  so  the  little  knight, 
despising  the  fickle  hjorde,  was  watching  to  see  if  spahis, 
janissaries,  or  some  other  chosen  cavalry  were  not  behind 
them. 

Pan  Lantskoronski  rushed  to  him  with  his  men  of 
Kieff. 

"  My  benefactor,"  cried  he,  "  the  janissaries  are  moving 
toward  the  river  ;  let  us  press  them !  " 

Pan  Michael  drew  his  rapier  and  commanded,  "  For- 
ward I  " 

Each  dragoon  drew  in  his  reins,  so  as  to  have  his  horse 
in  hand ;  then  the  rank  bent  a  little,  and  moved  forward  as 
regularly  as  if  on  parade.  They  went  first  at  a  trot,  then 
at  a  gallop,  but  did  not  let  their  horses  go  yet  at  highest 
speed.  Only  when  they  had  passed  the  houses  built  toward 
the  water,  east  of  the  castle,  did  they  see  the  white  felt 
caps  of  the  janissaries,  and  know  that  they  had  to  do  not 
with  volunteer,  but  with  regular  janissaries. 

"  Strike  ! "  cried  Volodyovski. 

The  horses  stretched  themselves,  almost  rubbing  the 

M 


450  PAN  MICHAEL. 

ground  with  their  bellies,  and  hurled  back  lumps  of  hard 
earth  with  their  hoofs. 

The  janissaries,  not  knowing  what  power  was  approach- 
ing to  the  succor  of  Jvanyets,  were  really  withdrawing 
toward  the  river.  One  detachment,  numbering  two  hun- 
dred and  some  tens  of  men,  was  already  at  the  bank,  and 
its  first  ranks  were  stepping  onto  scows ;  another  detach- 
ment of  equal  force  was  going  quickly,  but  in  perfect  order. 
When  they  saw  the  approaching  cavalry  they  halted,  and 
in  one  instant  turned  their  faces  to  the  enemy.  Their 
muskets  were  lowered  in  a  line,  and  a  salvo  thundered  as  at  a 
review.  What  is  more,  these  hardened  warriors,  consider- 
ing that  their  comrades  at  the  shore  would  support  them 
with  musketry,  not  only  did  not  retreat  after  the  volley, 
but  shouted,  and  following  their  own  smoke,  struck  in  fury 
with  their  sabres  on  the  cavalry.  That  was  daring  of 
which  the  janissaries  alone  were  capable,  but  for  which 
they  paid  dearly,  because  the  riders,  unable  to  restrain  the 
horses,  even  had  they  the  wish,  struck  them  as  a  hammer 
strikes,  and  breaking  them  in  a  moment,  scattered  destruc- 
tion and  terror.  The  first  rank  fell  under  the  force  of  the 
blow,  as  grain  under  a  whirlwind.  It  is  true  that  many 
fell  only  from  the  impetus,  and  these,  springing  up,  ran  in 
disorder  to  the'  river,  from  which  the  second  detachment 
gave  fire  repeatedly,  aiming  high,  so  as  to  strike  the  dra- 
goons over  the  heads  of  their  comrades. 

After  a  while  there  was  evident,  hesitation  among  the  jan- 
issaries at  the  scows,  and  also  uncertainty  whether  to  embark 
or  follow  the  example  of  the  other  detachment,  and  engage 
hand  to  hand  with  the  cavalry.  But  they  were  restrained 
from  the  last  step  by  the  sight  of  fleeing  groups,  which  the 
cavalry  pushed  with  the  breasts  of  horses,  and  slashed  so 
terribly  that  its  fury  could  only  be  compared  with  its 
skill.  At  times  sucli  a  group,  when  too  much  pressed, 
turned  in  desperation  and  began  to  bite,  as  a  beast  at  bay 
bites  when  it  sees  that  there  is  no  escape  for  it.  But  just 
then  those  who  were  standing  at  the  bank  could  see  as  on 
their  palms  that  it  was  impossible  to  meet  that  cavalry  with 
cold  weapons,  so  far  superior  were  they  in  the  use  of  them 
The  defenders  were  cut  with  such  regularity  and  swiftness 
that  the  eye  could  not  follow  the  motion  of  the  sabres.  As 
when  men  of  a  good  household,  shelling  peas  well  dried, 
strike  industriously  and  quickly  on  the  threshing-floor,  so 
that  the  whole  barn  is  thundering  with  the  noise  of  the 


PAN  MICHAEL.  451 

blows  and  the  kernels  are  jumping  toward  every  side,  so 
did  the  whole  river-bank  thunder  with  sabre-blows,  and 
the  groups  of  janissaries,  slashed  without  mercy,  sprang 
hither  and  thither  in  every  direction. 

Pan  Vasilkovski  hurled  himself  forward  at  the  head  of 
this  cavalry,  caring  nothing  for  his  own  life.  But  as  a 
trained  reaper  surpasses  a  young  fellow  much  stronger 
than  he,  but  less  skilled  at  the  sickle, —  for  when  the  young 
man  is  toiling,  and  streams  of  sweat  cover  him,  the  other 
goes  forward  constantly,  cutting  down  the  grain  evenly 
before  him,  —  so  did  Fan  Michael  surpas§  the  wild  youth 
Vasilkovski.  Before  striking  the  janissaries  he  let  the 
dragoons  go  ahead,  and  remained  himself  in  the  rear  some- 
what, to  watch  the  whole  battle.  Standing  thus  at  a 
distance,  he  looked  carefully,  but  every  little  while  he 
rushed  into  the  conflict,  struck,  directed,  then  again  let 
the  battle  push  away  from  him;  again  he  looked,  again  he 
struck.  As  usual  in  a  battle  with  infantry,  so  it  happened 
then,  that  the  cavalry  in  rushing  on  passed  the  fugitives. 
A  number  of  these,  not  having  before  them  a  road  to  the 
river,  returned  in  flight  to  the  town,  so  as  to  hide  in  the  sun- 
flowers growing  in  front  of  the  houses ;  but  Pan  Michael 
saw  them.  He  came  up  with  the  first  two,  and  distributed 
two  light  blows  between  them ;  they  fell  at  once,  and  dig- 
ging the  earth  with  their  heels,  sent  forth  their  souls  with 
their  blood  through  the  open  wounds.  Seeing  this,  a  third 
fired  at  the  little  knight  from  a  janissary  musket,  and 
missed  ;  but  the  little  knight  struck  him  with  his  sword-edge 
between  nose  and  mouth,  and  this  deprived  him  of 
precious  life.  Then,  without  loitering,  Pan  Michael  sprang 
after  the  others ;  and  not  so  quickly  does  a  village  youth 
gather  mushrooms  growing  in  a  bunch,  as  he  gathered  those 
men  before  they  ran  to  the  sunflowers.  Only  the  last  two 
did  soldiers  of  Jvanyets  seize  ;  the  little  knight  gave  com- 
mand to  keep  these  two  alive. 

When  he  had  warmed  himself  a  little,  and  saw  that  the 
janissaries  were  hotly  pressed  at  the  river,  he  sprang  into 
the  thick  of  the  battle,  and  coming  up  with  the  dragoons, 
began  real  labor.  Now  he  struck  in  front,  now  he  turned 
to  the  right  or  the  left,  gave  a  thrust  with  his  blade  and 
looked  no  farther ;  each  time  a  white  cap  fell  to  the  ground. 
The  janissaries  began  to  crowd  from  before  him  witli  an 
outcry ;  he  redoubled  the  swiftness  of  his  blows  ;  and  though 
he  remained  calm  himself,  no  eye  could  follow  the  move- 


452  PAN  MICHAEL. 

ments  of  his  sabre,  and  know  when  he  would  strike  or 
when  he  would  thrust,  for  his  sabre  described  one  bright 
circle  around  him. 

Pan  Lantskoronski,  who  had  long  heard  of  him  as  a 
master  above  masters,  but  had  not  seen  him  hitherto  in 
action,  stopped  fighting  and  looked  on  with  amazement ; 
unable  to  believe  his  own  eyes,  he  could  not  think  that  one 
man,  though  a  master,  and  famous,  could  accomplish  so 
much.  He  seized  his  head,  therefore,  and  his  comrades 
around  only  heard  him  repeating  continually,  "  As  God 
lives,  they  have  told  little  of  him  yet !  "  And  others  cried, 
"  Look  at  him,  for  you  will  not  see  that  again  in  this 
world !  "  But  Pan  Michael  worked  on. 

The  janissaries,  pushed  to  the  river,  began  now  to  crowd 
in  disorder  to  the  scows.  Since  there  were  scows  enough, 
and  fewer  men  were  returning  than  had  come,  they  took 
their  places  quickly  and  easily.  Then  the  heavy  oars 
moved,  and  between  the  janissaries  and  the  bank  was 
formed  an  interval  of  water  which  widened  every  instant. 
But  from  the  scows  guns  began  to  thunder,  whereupon 
the  dragoons  thundered  in  answer  from  their  muskets ; 
smoke  rose  over  the  water  in  cloudlets,  then  stretched  out 
in  long  strips.  The  scows,  and  with  them  the  janissaries, 
receded  every  moment.  The  dragoons,  who  held  the  field, 
raised  a  fierce  shout,  and  threatening  with  their  fists, 
called,  — 

"Ah,  thou  dog,  off  with  thee  !  off  with  thee!  " 

Pan  Lantskoronski,  though  the  balls  were  plashing  still, 
seized  Pan  Michael  by  the  shoulders  right  at  the  bank. 

"  I  did  not  believe  my  eyes,"  said  he,  "  those,  my  bene- 
factor, are  wonders  which  deserve  a  golden  pen  ! " 

"Native  ability  and  training,"  answered  Pan  Michael, 
"  that 's  the  whole  matter  !  How  many  wars  have  I  passed 
through  ?  "  • 

Then  returning  Lantskoronski's  pressure,  he  freed  him- 
self, and  looking  at  the  bank,  cried,  — 

"Look,  your  grace ;  you  will  see  another  power." 

The  chamberlain  turned,  and  saw  an  officer  drawing  a  bow 
on  the  bank.  It  was  Pan  Mushalski. 

Hitherto  the  famous  bowman  had  been  struggling  with 
others  in  hand-to-hand  conflicts  with  the  enemy ;  but  now, 
when  the  janissaries  had  withdrawn  to  such  a  distance  that 
bullets  and  pistol-balls  could  not  reach  them,  he  drew  his 
bow,  and  standing  on  the  bank  at  its  highest  point  he.  tried 


PAN  MICHAEL.  453 

the  string  first  with  his  finger,  when  it  twanged  sharply; 
he  placed  on  it  the  feathered  arrow  —  and  aimed. 

At  that  moment  Fan  Michael  and  Lantskoronski  looked 
at  him.  It  was  a  beautiful  picture.  The  bowman  was  sit- 
ting on  his  horse ;  he  held  his  left  hand  out  straight  before 
him,  in  it  the  bow,  as  if  in  a  vice.  The  right  hand  he  drew 
with  increasing  force  to  the  nipple  of  his  breast,  till  the 
veins  were  swelling  on  his  forehead,  and  he  aimed  carefully. 
In  the  distance  were  visible,  under  a  cloud  of  smoke,  a  num- 
ber of  scows  moving  on  the  river,  which  was  very  high,  from 
snow  melting  on  the  mountains,  and  was  so  transparent 
that  the  scows  and  the  janissaries  sitting  on  them  were 
reflected  in  the  water.  Pistols  on  the  bank  were  silent; 
eyes  were  turned  on  Pan  Mushalski,  or  looked  in  the 
direction  in  which  his  murderous  arrow  was  to  go. 

Now  the  string  sounded  loudly,  and  the  feathered  arrow 
left  the  bow.  No  eye  could  catch  its  flight;  but  all  saw 
perfectly  how  a  sturdy  janissary,  standing  at  an  oar,  threw 
out  his  arms  on  a  sudden,  and  turning  on  the  spot,  dropped 
into  the  river.  The  transparent  surface  spurted  up  from 
his  weight;  and  Pan  Mushalski  said, —  . 

"  For  thee,  Didyuk."  Then  he  sought  another  arrow. 
"  In  honor  of  the  hetman,"  said  he  to  his  comrades.  They 
held  their  breath ;  after  a  while  the  air  whistled  again, 
and  a  second  janissary  fell  on  the  scow. 

On  all  the  scows  the  oars  began  to  move  more  quickly ; 
they  struck  the  clear  river  vigorously  ;  but  the  famous  bow- 
man turned  with  a  smile  to  the  little  knight, — 

"  In  honor  of  the  worthy  wife  of  your  grace  ! " 

A  third  time  the  bow  was  stretched ;  a  third  time  he  sent 
out  a  bitter  arrow ;  and  a  third  time  it  sank  half  its  shaft's 
length  in  the  body  of  a  man.  A  shout  of  triumph  thundered 
on  the  bank,  a  shout  of  rage  from  the  scows.  Then  Pan 
Mushalski  withdrew  ;  and  after  him  followed  other  victors 
of  the  day,  and  went  to  the  town. 

While  returning,  they  looked  with  pleasure  on  the  harvest 
of  that  day.  Few  of  the  horde  had  perished,  for  they  had 
not  fought  well  even  once ;  and  put  to  flight,  they  recrossed 
the  river  quickly.  But  the  janissaries  lay  to  the  number  of 
some  tens  of  men,  like  bundles  of  firmly  bound  grain.  A 
few  were  struggling  yet,  but  all  had  been  stripped  by  the  ser- 
vants of  the  chamberlain.  Looking  at  them,  Pan  Michael 
said,  — 

"  Brave  infantry  !  the  raen  wove  tp  the  conflict  like  wild 


454  PAN  MICHAEL. 

boars  ;  but  they  do  not  know  beyond  half  what  the  Swedes 
do." 

•"They  fired  as  a  man  would  Crack  nuts,"  said  the 
chamberlain. 

"  That  came  of  itself,  not  through  training,  for  they  have 
no  general  training.  They  were  of  the  Sultan's  guard,  and 
they  are  disciplined  in  some  fashion ;  besides  these  there  are 
irregular  janissaries,  considerably  inferior." 

"  We  have  given  them  a  keepsake !  God  is  gracious,  that 
we  begin  the  war  with  such  a  noteworthy  victory." 

But  the  experienced  Pan  Michael  had  another  opinion. 

"This  is  a  small  victory,  insignificant,"  said  he.  "It  is 
good  to  raise  courage  in  men  without  training  and  in  towns- 
people, but  will  have  no  result." 

"  But  do  you  think  courage  will  not  break  in  the  Pagans  ?  " 

"In  the  Pagans  courage  will  not  break,"  said  Pan 
Michael. 

Thus  conversing,  they  reached  Jvanyets,  where  the  people 
gave  them  the  two  captured  janissaries  who  had  tried  to 
hide  from  Pan  Michael  in  the  sunflowers. 
..  One  was  wounded  somewhat,  the  other  perfectly  well  and 
full  of  wild  courage.  When  he  reached  the  castle,  the 
little  knight,  who  understood  Turkish  well,  though  he  did 
not  speak  it  fluently,  asked  Pan  Makovetski  to  question  the 
man.  Pan  Makovetski  asked  if  the  Sultan  was  in  Hotin 
himself,  and  if  he  would  come  soon  to  Kamenyets. 

The  Turk  answered  clearly,  but  insolently,  — 

"  The  Padishah  is  present  himself.  They  said  in  the  camp 
that  to-morrow  Halil  Pasha  and  Murad  Pasha  would  cross, 
taking  engineers  with  them.  To-morrow,  or  after  to-morrow, 
the  hour  of  destruction  will  come  on  you." 

Here  the  prisoner  put  his  hands  on  his  hips,  and,  confi- 
dent in  the  terror  of  the  Sultan's  name,  continued,  — 

"  Mad  Poles  !  how  did  you  dare  at  the  side  of  the  Sultan 
to  fall  on  his  people  and  strike  them  ?  Do  you  think  that 
hard  punishment  will  miss  you  ?  Can  that  little  castle 
protect  you  ?  What  will  you  be  in  a  few  days  but  captives  ? 
What  are  you  this  day  but  dogs  springing  in  the  face  of 
your  master  ?  " 

Pan  Makovetski  wrote  down  everything  carefully ;  but 
Pan  Michael,  wishing  to  temper  the  insolence  of  the  prisoner, 
struck  him  on  the  face  at  the  last  words.  The  Turk  was 
confused,  and  gained  respect  for  the  little  knight  straight- 
way, and  in  general  began  to  express  himself  more  decently. 


i-AN  MICHAEL.  455 

When  the  examination  was  over,  and  they  brought  him 
to  the  hall,  Pan  Michael  said,  — 

"  It  is  necessary  to  send  these  prisoners  and  their  confes- 
sion on  a  gallop  to  Warsaw,  for  at  the  king's  court  they  do 
not  believe  yet  that  there  will  be  war." 

"  And  what  do  you  think,  gentlemen,  did  that  prisoner 
tell  the  truth,  or  did  he  lie  altogether  ?  " 

"  If  it  please  you,  gentlemen,"  said  Volodyovski,  "  it  is 
possible  to  scorch  his  heels.  I  have  a  sergeant  who  executed 
A/ya,  the  son  of  Tugai  Bey,  and  who  in  these  matters  is 
exrjuisitissimus  ;  but,  to  my  thinking,  the  janissary  has  told 
the  truth  in  everything.  The  crossing  will  begin  soon ; 
we  cannot  stop  it,  —  no  !  even  if  there  were  a  hundred  times 
as  many  of  us.  Therefore  nothing  is  left  but  to  assemble, 
and  go  to  Kamenyets  with  the  news." 

"1  have  done  so  well  at  Jvanyets  that  I  would  shut 
myself  up  in  the  castle  with  pleasure,"  said  the  chamberlain, 
"  were  I  sure  that  you  would  come  from  time  to  time  with 
succor  from  Kamenyets.  After  that,  let  happen  what 
would  !  " 

"  They  have  two  hundred  cannon,"  said  Pan  Michael ; 
<'  and  if  they  bring  over  two  heavy  guns,  this  castle  will  not 
nold  out  one  day.  I  too  wished  to  shut  myself  up  in  it, 
but  now  I  know  that  to  be  useless." 

( )thers  agreed  with  the  little -knight.  Pan  Lantskoronski, 
as  if  to  show  courage,  insisted  for  a  time  yet  on  staying  in 
Jvanyets ;  but  he  was  too  experienced  a  soldier  not  to  see 
that  Volodyovski  was  right.  At  last  he  was  interrupted 
by  Pan  Vasilkovski,  who,  coming  from  the  field,  rushed  in 
quickly. 

"  Gracious  gentlemen,"  said  he,  "  the  river  is  not  to  be 
seen ;  the  whole  Dneister  is  covered  with  rafts." 

"  Are  they  crossing  ?  "  inquired  all  at  once. 

"  They  are,  as  true  as  life  !  The  Turks  are  on  the  rafts, 
and  the  chambuls  in  the  ford,  the  men  holding  the  horses' 
tails." 

Pan  Lantskoronski  hesitated  no  longer;  he  gave  orders 
at  once  to  sink  the  old  howitzer,  and  either  to  hide  the 
other  things,  or  take  them  to  Kamenyets.  Pan  Michael 
sprang  to  his  horse,  and  went  with  his  men  to  a  distant 
height  to  look  at  the  crossing. 

Halil  Pasha  and  Murad  Pasha  were  crossing  indeed.  As 
far  as  the  eye  reached,  it  saw  scows  and  rafts,  pushed  for- 
ward by  oars,  with  measured  movement,  in  the  clear  water. 


456  PAN  MICHAEL. 

Janissaries  and  spahis  were  moving  together  in  great  num- 
bers ;  vessels  for  crossing  had  been  prepared  at  Hotin  a  long 
time.  Besides,  great  masses  of  troops  were  standing  on  the 
shore  at  a  distance.  Pan  Michael  supposed  that  they 
would  build  a  bridge  ;  but  the  Sultan  had  not  moved  his 
main  force  yet.  Meanwhile  Pan  Lantskoronski  came  up 
with  his  men,  and  they  marched  toward  Kameuyets  with 
the  little  knight.  Pan  Pototski  was  waiting  in  the  town 
for  them.  His  quarters  were  filled  with  higher  officers ; 
and  before  his  quarters  both  sexes  were  assembled,  unquiet, 
careworn,  curious. 

"  The  enemy  is  crossing,  and  Jvanyets  is  occupied  !  "  said 
the  little  knight. 

"  The  works  are  finished,  and  we  are  waiting,"  answered 
Pan  Pototski. 

The  news  went  to  the  crowd,  who  began  to  roar  like  a 
river. 

"  To  the  gates  !  to  the  gates  !  "  was  heard  through  the 
town.  "  The  enemy  is  in  Jvanyets  !  "  Men  and  women  ran 
to  the  bastions,  expecting  to  see  the  enemy ;  but  the  soldiers 
would  not  let  them  go  to  the  places  appointed  for  service. 

"  Go  to  your  houses  ! "  cried  they  to  the  crowds ;  "  you 
will  hinder  the  defence.  Soon  will  your  wives  see  the 
Turks  near  at  hand." 

Moreover,  there  was  no  alarm  in  the  town,  for  already 
news  had  gone  around  of  the  victory  of  that  day,  and  news 
naturally  exaggerated.  The  soldiers  told  wonders  of  the 
meeting. 

"  Pan  Volodyovski  defeated  the  janissaries,  the  Sultan's 
own  guard,"  repeated  all  mouths.  "  It  is  not  for  Pagans 
to  measure  strength  with  Pan  Volodyovski.  He  cut  down 
the  pasha  himself.  The  Devil  is  not  so  terrible  as  he  is 
painted  !  And  they  did  not  withstand  our  troops.  Good 
for  you,  dog-brothers  !  Destruction  to  you  and  your  Sultan ! " 

The  women  showed  themselves  again  at  the  intrenchments 
and  bastions,  but  laden  with  flasks  of  gorailka,  wine,  and 
mead.  This  time  they  were  received  willingly ;  and  glad- 
ness began  among  the  soldiers.  Pan  Pototski  did  not  oppose 
this  ;  wishing  to  sustain  courage  in  the  men  and  cheerfulness, 
because  there  was  an  inexhaustible  abundance  of  ammuni- 
tion in  the  tow-n  and  the  castle,  he  permitted  them  to  fire 
salvos,  hoping  that  these  sounds  of  joy  would  confuse  the 
enemy  not  a  little,  should  they  hear  them. 

Fail  Michael   remained,    at   the  quarters   of  the   sta* 


PAN   MICHAEL  457 

rosta  till  nightfall,  when  he  mounted  his  horse  and  was 
escaping  in  secret  with  his  servant  to  the  cloister, 
wishing  to  be  with  his  wife  as  soon  as  possible.  But  his 
attempts  came  to  nothing,  for  he  was  recognized,  and  dense 
crowds  surrounded  his  horse.  Shouts  and  vivats  began. 
Mothers  raised  their  children  to  him.  "  There  he  is  !  look 
at  him,  remember  him  ! "  repeated  many  voices.  They 
admired  him  immensely;  but  people  unacquainted  with 
war  were  astonished  at  his  diminutive  stature.  It  could 
not  find  place  in  the  heads  of  the  towns-people  that  a  man 
so  small,  and  with  such  a  pleasant  face,  could  be  the  most 
terrible  soldier  of  the  Commonwealth,  —  a  soldier  whom 
none  could  resist.  But  he  rode  among  the  crowds,  and 
smiled  from  time  to  time,  for  he  was  pleased  When  he 
came  to  the  cloister,  he  fell  into  the  open  arms  of  Basia. 

She  knew  already  of  his  deeds  done  that  day  and  all  his 
masterly  blows ;  the  chamberlain  of  Podolia  had  just  left 
the  cloister,  and,  as  an  eye-witness,  had  given  her  a  detailed 
report.  Basia,  at  the  beginning  of  the  narrative,  called  the 
women  present  in  the  cloister  hence,  —  the  abbess  and  the 
wives  of  Makovetski,  Humyetski,  Ketling,  Hotsimirski ; 
and  as  the  chamberlain  went  on,  she  began  to  plume  her- 
self immensely  before  them.  Pan  Michael  came  just  after 
the  women  had  gone. 

When  greetings  were  finished,  the  wearied  knight  sat 
down  to  supper.  Basia  sat  at  his  side,  placed  food  on  his 
plate,  and  poured  mead  into  his  goblet.  He  ate  and  drank 
willingly,  for  he  had  put  almost  nothing  in  his  mouth  the 
whole  day.  In  the  intervals  he  related  something  too  j 
and  Basia,  listening  with  gleaming  eyes,  shook  her  head, 
according  to  custom,  asking,  — 

"  Ah,  ha !     Well  ?  and  what  ?  " 

"  There  are  strong  men  among  them,  and  very  fierce ;  but 
it  is  hard  to  find  a  Turk  whjo  's  a  swordsman,"  said  the 
little  knight. 

"  Then  I  could  meet  any  of  them  ?  " 

"  You  might,  only  you  will  not,  for  I  will  not  take  you." 

"  Even  once  in  my  life  !  You  know,  Michael,  when  you 
go  outside  the  walls,  I  am  not  even  alarmed ;  I  know  that 
no  one  can  reach  you." 

"  But  can't  they  shoot  me  ?  " 

"  Be  quiet !  Is  n't  there  a  Lord  God  ?  You  will  not  let 
them  cut  you  down,  —  that  is  the  main  thing." 

"  I  will  not  let  one  or  two  slay  me." 


458  PAN   MICHAEL. 

"  Nor  three,  Michael,  nor  four." 

"  Nor  four  thousand,"  said  Zagloba,  mimicking  her.  "  If 
you  knew,  Michael,-  what  she  did  when  the  chamberlain 
was  telling  his  story.  I  thought  1  should  burst  from 
laughter.  As  God  is  dear  to  me  !  she  snorted  just  like  a 
goat,  and  looked  into  the  face  of  each  woman  in  turn  to 
see  if  she  was  delighted  in  a  fitting  manner.  In  the  end 
I  was  afraid  that  the  goat  would  go  to  butting,  —  no  very 
polite  spectacle." 

The  little  knight  stretched  himself  after  eating,  for  he 
was  considerably  tired ;  then  suddenly  he  drew  Basia  to  him 
and  said,  — 

"  My  quarters  in  the  castle  are  ready,  but  I  do  not  wish 
to  return.  I  might  stay  here  to-night,  I  suppose." 

•'As  you  like,  Michael,"  said  she,  dropping  her  eyes. 

"  Ha  !  "  said  Zagloba,  "  they  look  on  me  here  as  a  mush- 
room, ,not  a  man,  for  the  abbess  invites  me  to  live  in  the 
nunnery.  But  I  '11  pay  her,  my  head  on  that  point !  Have 
you  seen  how  Pani  Hotsimirski  is  ogling  me  ?  She  is  a 
widow  —  very  well  —  I  won't  tell  you  any  more." 

"  I  think  I  shall  stay,"  said  the  little  knight. 

"  If  you  will  only  rest  well,"  said  Basia. 

"  Why  should  n't  he  rest  ?  "  asked  Zagloba. 

"  Because  we  shall  talk,  and  talk,  and  talk." 

Zagloba  wishing  to  go  to  his  own  room,  turned  to  look 
for  his  cap ;  at  last,  when  he  had  found  it,  he  put  it  on  his 
head  and  said,  "  You  will  not  talk,  and  talk,  and  talk." 
Then  he  went  out. 


PAN   MICHAEL.  459 


CHAPTER  LIT  I. 

NEXT  morning,  at  daybreak,  the  little  knight  went  to 
Knyahin  and  captured  Buluk  Pasha,  —  a  notable  warrior 
among  the  Turks.  The  whole  day  passed  for  him  in  labor 
on  the  field,  a  part  of  the  night  in  counsel  with  Pan  Potot- 
ski,  and  only  at  first  cock-crow  did  he  lay  down  his 
wearied  head  to  sleep  a  little.  But  he  was  barely  slumber- 
ing sweetly  and  deeply  when  the  thunder  of  cannon  roused 
him.  The  man  Pyentka,  from  Jmud,  a  faithful  servant  of 
Pan  Michael,  almost  a  friend,  came  into  the  room. 

"  Your  grace,"  said  he,  "  the  enemy  is  before  the  town." 

"  What  guns  are  those  ?  "  asked  the  little  knight. 

"  Our  guns,  frightening  the  Pagans.  There  is  a  consid- 
erable party  driving  off  cattle  from  the  field." 

"  Janissaries  or  cavalry  ?  " 

"  Cavalry.  Very  black.  Our  side  is  frightening  them 
with  the  Holy  Cross ;  for  who  knows  but  they  are  devils  ?  " 

"  Devils  or  no  devils,  we  must  be  at  them,"  said  the 
little  knight.  "  Go  to  the  lady,  and  tell  her  that  1  am  in 
the  field.  If  she  wishes  to  come  to  the  castle  to  look  out, 
she  may,  if  she  comes  with  Pan  Zagloba,  for  1  count  most 
on  his  discretion." 

Half  an  hour  later  Pan  Michael  rushed  into  the  field  at 
the  head  of  dragoons  and  volunteer  nobles,  who  calculated 
that  it  would  be  possible  to  exhibit  themselves  in  skirmishing. 
From  the  old  castle  the  cavalry  were  to  be  seen  perfectly, 
in  number  about  two  thousand,  composed  in  part  of  spahis, 
but  mainly  of  the  Egyptian  guard  of  the  Sultan.  In  this 
last  served  wealthy  and  generous  mamelukes  from  the  Nile. 
Their  mail  in  gleaming  scales,  their  bright  kefis,  woven 
with  gold,  on  their  heads,  their  white  burnooses  and  their 
weapons  set  with  diamonds,  made  them  the  most  brilliant 
cavalry  in  the  world.  They  were  armed  with  darts,  set  on 
jointed  staffs,  and  with  swords  and  knives  greatly  curved. 
Sitting  on  horses  as  swift  as  the  wind,  they  swept  over  the 
field  like  a  rainbow-colored  cloud,  shouting,  whirling,  and 
winding  between  their  fingers  the  deadly  darts.  The  Poles 
in  the  castle  could  not  look  at  them  long  enough. 


460  PAN   MICHAEL. 

Pan  Michael  pushed  toward  them  with  his  cavalry.  It 
was  difficult,  however,  for  both  sides  to  meet  with  cold 
weapons,  since  the  cannon  of  the  castle  restrained  the 
Turks,  and  they  were  too  numerous  for  the  little  knight 
to  go  to  them,  and  have  a  trial  beyond  the  reach  of  Polish 
cannon.  For  a  time,  however,  both  sides  circled  around  at 
a  distance,  shaking  their  weapons  and  shouting  loudly.  But 
at  last  this  empty  threatening  became  clearly  disagreeable 
to  the  fiery  sons  of  the  desert,  for  all  at  once  single  horse- 
men began  to  separate  from  the  mass  and  advance,  calling 
loudly  on  their  opponents.  Soon  they  scattered  over  the 
field,  and  glittered  on  it  like  flowers  which  the  wind  drives 
in  various  directions.  Pan  Michael  looked  at  his  own 
men. 

"  Gracious  gentlemen,"  said  he,  "  they  are  inviting  us. 
Who  will  go  to  the  skirmish  ?  " 

The  fiery  cavalier,  Pan  Vasilkovski,  sprang  out  first ; 
after  him  Pan  Mushalski,  the  infallible  bowman,  but  also 
in  hand-to-hand  conflict  an  excellent  skirmisher ;  after 
these  went  Pan  Myazga  of  the  escutcheon  Prus,  who  dur- 
ing the  full  speed  of  his  horse  could  carry  off  a  finger-ring 
on  his  lance ;  after  P,an  Myazga  galloped  Pan  Teodor 
Paderevski,  Pan  Ozevich,  Pan  Shmlud-Plotski,  Prince 
Ovsyani,  and  Pan  Murkos-Sheluta,  with  a  number  of  good 
cavaliers ;  and  of  the  dragoons  there  went  also  a  group, 
for  the  hope  of  rich  plunder  incited  them,  but  more  than 
all  the  peerless  horses  of  the  Arabs.  At  the  head  of  the 
dragoons  went  the  stern  Lusnia  ;  and  gnawing  his  yellow 
mustache,  he  was  choosing  at  a  distance  the  wealthiest 
enemy. 

The  day  was  beautiful.  They  were  perfectly  visible; 
the  cannon  on  the  walls  became  silent  one  after  another, 
till  at  last  all  firing  had  ceased,  for  the  gunners  were  fear- 
ful of  injuring  some  of  their  own  men;  they  preferred  also 
to  look  at  the  battle  rather  than  'fire  at  scattered  skir- 
mishers. The  two  sides  rode  toward  each  other  at  a  walk, 
without  hastening,  then  at  a  trot,  not  in  a  line,  but  irregu 
larly,  as  suited  each  man.  At  length,  when  they  had 
ridden  near  to  each  other,  they  reined  in  their  horses,  and 
fell  to  abusing  each  other,  so  as  to  rouse  anger  and  daring. 

"  You  '11  not  grow  fat  with  us,  Pagan  dogs !  "  cried  the 
Poles.  "  Your  vile  Prophet  will  not  protect  you  !  " 

The  others  cried  in  Turkish  and  Arabic.  Many  Poles 
knew  both  languages,  for,  like  the  celebrated  bowman,  many 


PAN  MICHAEL.  461 

had  gone  through  grievous  captivity ;  therefore  when  Pagans 
blasphemed  the  Most  Holy  Lady  with  special  insolence, 
anger  raised  the  hair  on  the  servants  of  Mary,  and  they 
urged  on  their  horses,  wishing  to  take  revenge  tor  the  insult 
to  her  name. 

Who  struck  the  first  blow  and  deprived  a  man  of  dear 
life  ? 

Pan  Mushalski  pierced  first  with  an  arrow  a  young  bey, 
with  a  purple  kefi  on  his  head,  and  dressed  in  a  silver  scaled 
armor,  clear  as  moonlight.  The  painful  shaft  went  under 
his  left  eye,  and  entered  his  head  half  the  length  of  its  shaft ; 
he,  throwing  back  his  beautiful  face  and  spreading  his  arms, 
flew  from  the  saddle.  The  archer,  putting  his  bow  under 
his  thigh,  sprang  forward  and  cut  him  yet  with  the  sabre ; 
then  taking  the  bey's  excellent  weapons,  and  driving  his 
horse  with  the  flat  of  his  sword  toward  the  castle,  he  called 
loudly  in  Arabic,  — 

"  I  would  that  he  were  the  Sultan's  own  son.  He  would 
rot  here  before  you  would  play  the  last  kindya." 

When  the  Turks  and  Egyptians  heard  this  the}-  were 
terribly  grieved,  and  two  beys  sprang  at  once  toward 
Mushalski  •,  but  from  one  side  Lusnia,  who  was  wolf-like  in 
fierceness,  intercepted  their  way,  and  in  the  twinkle  of  an 
eye  bit  to  death  one  of  them.  First  he  cut  him  in  the  hand ; 
and  when  the  bey  stooped  for  his  sabre,  which  had  fallen, 
Lusnia  almost  severed  his  head  with  a  terrible  blow  on  the 
neck.  Seeing  which,  the  other  turned  his  horse  swift  as 
wind  to  escape,  but  that  moment  Pan  Mushalski  took  the 
bow  again  from  under  his  thigh,  and  sent  after  the  fugitive 
an  arrow ;  it  reached  him  in  his  flight,  and  sank  almost  to 
the  feathers  between  his  shoulders. 

Pan  Shmlud-Plotski  was  the  third  to  finish  his  enemy, 
striking  him  with  a  sharp  hammer  on  the  helmet.  He 
drove  in  with  the  blow  the  silver  and  velvet  lining  of  the 
steel ;  and  the  bent  point  of  the  hammer  stuck  so  tightly  in 
the  skull  that  Pan  Plotski  could  not  draw  it  forth  for  a  time. 
Others  fought  with  varied  fortune ;  still,  victory  was  mainly 
with  the  nobles,  who  were  more  skilled  in  fencing.  But  two 
dragoons  fell  from  the  powerful  hand  of  Hamdi  Bey,  who 
slashed  then  Prince  Ovsyani  with  a  curved  sword  through 
the  face,  and  stretched  him  on  the  field.  Ovsyani  moistened 
his  native  earth  with  his  princely  blood.  Hamdi  turned 
then  to  Pan  Sheluta,  whose  horse  had  thrust  his  foot  into  the 
burrow  of  a  hamster.  Sheluta,  seeing  death  inevitable,  chose 


462  PAN  MICHAEL. 

to  meet  the  terrible  horseman  on  foot,  and  sprang  to  the 
ground.  But  Haindi,  with  the  breast  of  his  horse,  over- 
turned the  Pole,  and  reached  the  arm  of  the  falling  man 
with  the  very  end  of  his  blade.  The  arm  dropped  ;  that 
instant  Hamdi  rushed  farther  through  the  field  in  search  of 
opponents. 

But  in  many  there  was  not  courage  to  measure  with  him, 
so  greatly  and  evidently  did  he  surpass  all  in  strength. 
The  wind  raised  his  white  burnoose  on  his  shoulders,  and 
bore  it  apart  like  the  wings  of  a  bird  of  prey  ;  his  gilt  worked 
armor  threw  an  ominous  gleam  on  his  almost  black  face, 
with  its  wild  and  flashing  eyes ;  a  curved  sabre  glittered 
above  his  head,  like  the  sickle  of  the  moon  on  a  clear  night. 

The  famed  archer  let  out  two  arrows  at  him ;  but  both 
merely  sounded  on  his  armor  with  a  groaning,  and  fell 
without  effect  on  the  grass.  Pan  Mushalski  began  to 
hesitate  whether  to  send  forth  a  third  shaft  against  the 
neck  of  the  steed,  or  rush  on  the  bey  with  his  sabre.  But 
while  he  was  thinking  of  this  on  the  way,  the  bey  saw  him 
and  urged  on  his  black  stallion. 

Both  met  in  the  middle  of  the  field.  Pan  Mushalski,  wish- 
ing to  show  his  great  strength  and  take  Hamdi  alive,  struck 
up  his  sword  with  a  powerful  blow  and  closed  with  him ;  he 
seized  the  bey's  throat  with  one  hand,  with  the  other  his 
pointed  helmet,  and  drew  him  from  his  horse.  But  the 
girth  of  his  own  saddle  broke ;  the  incomparable  bowman 
turned  with  it,  and  dropped  to  the  ground.  Hamdi  struck 
the  falling  man  with  the  hilt  of  his  sword  on  the  head  and 
stunned  him.  The  spahis  and  mamelukes,  who  had  feared 
for  Hamdi,  shouted  with  joy  ;  the  Poles  were  grieved  greatly. 
Then  the  opposing  sides  sprang  toward  one  another  in  dense 
groups,  —  one  side  to  seize  the  bowman,  the  other  to  defend 
even  his  body. 

So  far  the  little  knight  had  taken  no  part  in  the  skirmish, 
for  his  dignity  of  colonel  did  not  permit  that;  but  seeing 
the  fall  of  Mushalski  and  the  preponderance  of  Hamdi,  he 
resolved  to  avenge  the  archer  and  give  courage  to  his  own 
men.  Inspired  with  this  thought,  he  put  spurs  to  his  horse, 
and  swept  across  the  field  as  swiftly  as  a  sparrow-hawk 
goes  to  a  flock  of  plover,  circling  over  stubble.  Basia,  look- 
ing through  a  glass,  saw  him  from  the  battlements,  arid  cried 
at  once  to  Zagloba,  who  was  near  her,  — 

"  Michael  is  flying  !     Michael  is  flying  !  " 

"  You  see  him,"  cried  the  old  warrior.  "Look  carefully, 
see  where  he  strikes  the  first  blow.  Have  no  fear !  " 


PAN  MICHAEL.  463 

The  glass  shook  in  Basia's  hand.  Though,  as  there  was 
no.  discharge  in  the  field  yet  from  bows  or  janissary  guns, 
she  was  not  alarmed  over-much  for  the  life  of  her  husband, 
still,  enthusiasm,  curiosity,  and  disquiet  seized  her.  Her 
soul  and  heart  had  gone  out  of  her  body  that  moment,  and 
were  flying  after  him.  Her  breast  was  heaving  quickly ;  a 
bright  flush  covered  her  face.  At  one  moment  she  had  bent 
over  the  battlement-  so  far  that  Zagloba  seized  her  by  the 
waist,  lest  she  might  fall  to  the  fosse. 

"  Two  are  flying  at  Michael !  "  cried  she. 

"  There  will  be  two  less  !  "  said  Zagloba. 

Indeed,  two  spahis  came  out  against  the  little  knight. 
Judging  from  his  uniform,  they  knew  that  he  was  a  man  of 
note,  and  seeing  the  small  stature  of  the  horseman  they 
thought  to  win  glory  cheaply.  The  fools  !  they  flew  to  sure 
death ;  for  when  they  had  drawn  near  he  did  not  even  rein 
in  his  horse,  but  gave  them  two  blows,  apparently  as  light 
as  when  a  mother  in  passing  gives  a  push  apiece  to  two 
children.  Both  fell  on  the  ground,  and  clawing  it  with 
their  fingers,  quivered  like  two  lynxes  which  death-dealing 
arrows  have  struck  simultaneously. 

The  little  knight  flew  farther  toward  horsemen  racing 
through  the  field,  and  began  to  spread  dreadful  disaster. 
A.s  when  after  Mass  a  boy  comes  in  with  a  pewter  extin- 
guisher fixed  to  a  staff,  and  quenches  one  after  another  the 
candles  on  the  altar,  and  the  altar  is  buried  in  shadow,  so  Pan 
Michael  quenched  right  and  left  brilliant  horsemen,  Egyptian 
and  Turkish,  and  they  sank  in  the  darkness  of  death.  The 
Pagans  recognized  a  master  above  masters,  and  their 
hearts  sank  within  them.  One  and  another  withdrew  his 
horse,  so  as  not  to  meet  with  the  terrible  leader ;  the  little 
knight  rushed  after  the  fugitives  like  a  venomous  wasp,  and 
pierced  one  after  another  with  his  sting. 

The  men  at  the  castle  artillery  began  to  shout  joyously  at 
sight  of  this.  Some  ran  up  to  Basia,  and  borne  away  with 
enthusiasm,  kissed  the  hem  of  her  robe ;  others  abused  the 
Turks. 

"  Basia,  restrain  yourself !  "  cried  Zagloba,  every  little 
while,  holding  her  continually  by  the  waist;  but  Hasi.i 
wanted  to  laugh  and  cry,  and  clap  her  hands,  and  shout 
and  look,  and  fly  to  her  husband  in  the  field. 

He  continued  to  carry  off  spahis  and  Egyptian  beys  till 
at  last  cries  of  "  Hamdi !  Hamdi  ! "  were  heard  throughout 
the  whole  field.  The  adherents  of  the  Prophet  called 


464  PAN   MICHAEL. 

loudly  for  their  greatest  warrior  to  measure  himself  with 
that  terrible  little  horseman,  who  seemed  to  be  death 
incarnate. 

Hamdi  had  seen  the  little  knight  for  some  time ;  but  noting 
his  deeds,  he  was  simply  afraid  of  him.  It  was  a  terror  to 
risk  at  once  his  great  fame  and  young  life  against  such  an 
ominous  enemy ;  therefore  he  feigned  not  to  see  him,  and 
began  to  circle  around  at  the  other  end  of  the  field.  He 
had  just  finished  Pan  Yalbryk  and  Pan  Kos  when  despair- 
ing cries  of  "  Hamdi !  Hamdi ! "  smote  his  ear.  He  saw 
then  that  he  could  hide  himself  no  longer,  that  he  must  win 
immeasurable  glory  or  lay  down  his  life  ;  at  that  moment  he 
gave  forth  a  shout  so  shrill  that  all  the  rocks  answered  with 
an  echo,  and  he  urged  on  toward  the  little  knight  a  horse  as 
swift  as  a  whirlwind. 

Pan  Michael  saw  him  from  a  distance,  and  pressed  also 
with  his  heels  his  Wallachian  bay.  Others  ceased  the 
armed  argument.  At  the  castle  Basia,  who  had  seen  just 
before  all  the  .deeds  of  the  terrible  Hamdi,  grew  somewhat 
pale,  in  spite  of  her  blind  faith  in  the  little  knight,  the 
unconquerable  swordsman ;  but  Zagloba  was  thoroughly  at 
rest. 

"  I  would  rather  be  the  heir  of  that  Pagan  than  that 
Pagan  himself,"  said  he  to  Basia,  sententiously. 

Pyentka,  the  slow  Lithuanian,  was  so  certain  of  his 
lord  that  not  the  least  anxiety  darkened  his  face;  but 
seeing  Hamdi  rushing  on,  he  began  to  hum  a  popular 
song,  — 

"  O  thou  foolish,  foolish  house-dog, 
That 's  a  gray  wolf  from  the  forest. 
Why  dost  thou  rush  forward  to  him 
If  thou  canst  not  overcome  him  1  " 

The  men  closed  in  the  middle  of  the  field  between  two 
ranks,  looking  on  from  a  distance.  The  hearts  of  all  died 
in  them  for  a  moment.  Then  serpentine  lightning  flashed 
in  the  bright  sun  above  the  heads  of  the  combatants ;  but 
the  curved  blade  flew  from  the  hand  of  Hamdi  like  an 
arrow  urged  by  a  bowstring ;  he  bent  toward  the  saddle, 
as  if  pierced  with  a  blade-point,  and  closed  his  eyes.  Pan 
Michael  seized  him  by  the  neck  with  his  left  hand,  and 
placing  the  point  of  his  sabre  at  the  armpit  of  the  Egyptian, 
turned  toward  his  own  men.  Hamdi  gave  no  resistance ; 
he  even  urged  his  horse  forward  with  his  heel,  for  he  felt 


PAN   MICHAEL.  465 

the  point  between  his  armpit  and  the  armor.  He  went  as 
if  stunned,  his  hands  hanging  powerless,  and  from  his 
eyes  tears  began  to  fall.  Tan  Michael  gave  him  to  the 
cruel  Lusnia,  and  returned  himself  to  the  field. 

But  in  the  Turkish  companies  trumpets  and  pipes  were 
sounded,  —  a  signal  of  retreat  to  the  skirmishers.  They 
began  to  withdraw  toward  their  own  forces,  taking  with 
them  shame,  vexation,  and  the  memory  of  the  terrible 
horseman. 

"  That  was  Satan  ! "  said  the  spahis  and  mamelukes  to 
one  another.  "Whoso  meets  that  man,  to  him  death  is 
predestined !  Satan,  no  other  I " 

The  Polish  skirmishers  remained  awhile  to  show  that 
they  held  the  field ;  then,  giving  forth  three  shouts  of  vic- 
tory, they  withdrew  under  cover  of  their  guns,  from  which 
Pan  Pototski  gave  command  to  renew  fire.  But  the  Turks 
began  to  retreat  altogether.  For  a  time  yet  their  bur- 
nooses  gleamed  in  the  sun,  and  their  colored  kefis  and 
glittering  head-pieces ;  then  the  blue  sky  hid  them. 

On  the  field  of  battle  there  remained  only  the  Turks 
and  Poles  slain  with  swords.  Servants  came  out  from 
the  castle  to  collect  and  bury  the  Poles.  Then  ravens 
came  to  labor  at  the  burial  of  the  Pagans,  but  their  stay 
was  not  long,  for  that  evening  new  legions  of  the  Prophet 
frightened  them  away. 

30 


466  PAN   MICHAEL. 


CHAPTER  LIV. 

ON  the  following  day,  the  vizir  himself  arrived  before 
Kamenyets  at  the  head  of  a  numerous  army  of  spahis, 
janissaries,  and  the  general  militia  from  Asia.  It  was 
supposed  at  once,  from  the  great  number  of  his  forces,  that 
he  would  storm  the  place ;  but  he  wished  merely  to  exam- 
ine the  walls.  Engineers  came  with  him  to  inspect  the 
fortress  and  earthworks.  Pan  Myslishevski  went  out  this 
time  against  the  vizir  with  infantry  and  a  division  of 
mounted  volunteers.  They  began  to  skirmish  again;  the 
action  was  favorable  for  the  besieged,  though  not  so  bril- 
liant as  on  the  first  day.  Finally,  the  vizir  commanded 
the  janissaries  to  move  to  the  walls  for  a  trial.  The 
thunder  of  cannon  shook  at  once  the  town  and  the  castle. 
When  the  janissaries  were  near  the  quarters  of  Pan 
Podchaski,  all  fired  at  once  with  a  great  outburst;  but 
as  Pan  Podchaski  answered  from  above  with  very  well- 
directed  shots,  and  there  was  danger  that  cavalry  might 
flank  the  janissaries,  they  retreated  on  the  Jvanyets  road, 
and  returned  to  the  main  camp. 

In  the  evening,  a  certain  Cheh  (Bohemian)  stole  into 
the  town;  he  had  been  a  groom  with  the  aga  of  the'  janis- 
saries, and  being  bastinadoed,  had  deserted.  From  him 
the  Poles  learned  that  the  Turks  had  fortified  themselves 
in  Jvanyets,  and  occupied  broad  fields  on  this  side  of 
Dlujek.  They  asked  the  fugitive  carefully  what  the  gen- 
eral opinion  among  the  Turks  was,  —  did  they  think  to 
capture  Kamenyets  or  not  ?  He  answered  that  there  was 
good  courage  in  the  army,  and  the  omens  were  favorable. 
A  couple  of  days  before,  there  had  risen  on  a  sudden  from 
the  earth  in  front  of  the  Sultan's  pavilion,  as  it  were  a 
pillar  of  smoke,  slender  below,  and  widening  above  in  the 
form  of  a  mighty  bush.  The  muftis  explained  that  that  por- 
tent signified  that  the  glory  of  the  Padishah  would  reach 
the  heavens,  and  that  he  would  be  the  ruler  to  crush  Kamen- 
yets, —  an  obstacle  hitherto  invincible.  That  strength- 
ened hearts  greatly  in  the  army.  "The  Turks,"  continued 
the  fugitive,  "  fear  Pan  Sobieski,'  and  succor ;  from  time 


PAN    MICHAEL.  467 

past  they  bear  in  mind  the  peril  of  meeting  the  troops  of 
the  Commonwealth  in  the  open  field,  though  they  are 
willing  to  meet  Venetians,  Hungarians,  or  any  other  people. 
But  since  they  have  information  that  there  are  no  troops  in 
the  Commonwealth,  they  think  generally  that  they  will  take 
Kamenyets,  though  not  without  trouble.  Kara  Mustafa, 
the  kaimakan,  has  advised  to  storm  the  walls  straightway  ; 
but  the  more  prudent  vizir  prefers  to  invest  the  town 
with  regular  works,  and  cover  it  with  cannon-balls.  The 
Sultan,  after  the  first  skirmishes,  has  inclined  to  the  opinion 
of  the  vizir ;  therefore  it  is  proper  to  look  for  a  regular 
siege." 

Thus  spoke  the  deserter.  Hearing  this  news,  Pan  Potot- 
ski  and  the  bishop,  the  chamberlain,  Pan  Volodyovski,  and 
all  the  other  chief  officers  were  greatly  concerned.  They 
had  counted  on  storms,  and  hoped  with  the  defensiveuess  of 
the  place  to  repulse  them  with  great  loss  to  the  enemy. 
They  knew  from  experience  that  during  storms  assailants 
suffer  great  losses ;  that  every  attack  which  is  repulsed 
shakes  their  courage,  and  adds  boldness  to  the  besieged. 
As  the  knights  at  Zbaraj  grew  enamoured  at  last  of  re- 
sistance, of  battles  and  sorties,  so  the  inhabitants  of 
Kamenyets  might  acquire  love  for  battle,  especially  if 
every  attack  ended  in  defeat  for  the  Turks  and  victory  for 
the  town.  But  a  regular  siege,  in  which  the  digging  of 
approaches  and  mines,  the  planting  of  guns  in  position, 
mean  everything,  might  only  weary  the  besieged,  weaken 
their  courage,  and  make  them  inclined  to  negotiation.  It 
was  difficult  also  to  count  on  sorties,  for  it  was  not  proper 
to  strip  the  walls  of  soldiers,  and  the  servants  or  towns- 
people, led  beyond  the  walls,  could  hardly  stand  before 
janissaries. 

Weighing  this,  all  the  superior  officers  were  greatly 
concerned,  and  to  them  a  happy  result  of  the  defence 
seemed  less  likely.  In  fact,  it  had  small  chance  of  Success, 
not  only  in  view  of  the  Turkish  power,  but  in  view  of 
themselves.  Pan  Volodyovski  was  an  incomparable  soldier 
and  very  famous,  but  he  had  not  the  majesty  of  greatness. 
Whoso  bears  the  sun  in  himself  is  able  to  warm  all  every- 
where ;  but  whoso  is  a  flame,  even  the  most  ardent,  warms 
only  thns<-  who  are  nearest.  So  it  was  with  the  little 
knight.  He  did  not  know  how  to  pour  his  spirit  into  others, 
and  could  not,  just  as  he  could  not  ^ive  his  own  skill  with 
the  sword.  Pan  Pototski,  the  supreme  chief,  was  not  a 


468  PAN   MICHAEL. 

warrior,  besides,  he  lacked  faith  in  himself,  in  others,  in  the 
Commonwealth.  The  bishop  counted  on  negotiations  mainly, 
his  brother  had  a  heavy  hand,  but  also  a  mind  not  much 
lighter.  Relief  was  impossible,  for  the  hetman,  Pan 
Sobieski,  though  great,  was  then  without  power.  With- 
out power  was  the  king,  without  power  the  whole 
Commonwealth. 

On  the  16th  of  August  came  the  Khan  with  the  horde, 
and  Doroshenko  with  his  Cossacks,  and  occupied  an 
enormous  area  on  the  fields,  beginning  with  Orynin.  Sufan 
Kazi  Aga  invited  Pan  Myslishevski  -that  day  to  an  inter- 
view, and  advised  him  to  surrender  the  place,  for  if  he  did 
he  would  receive  such  favorable  conditions  as  had  never 
been  heard  of  in  the  history  of  sieges.  The  bishop  was 
curious  to  know  what  those  favors  were  ;  but  he  was  shouted 
down  in  the  council,  and  a  refusal  was  sent  back  in  answer. 
On  August  18,  the  Turks  began  to  advance,  and  with  them 
the  Sultan. 

They  came  on  like  a  measureless  sea,  —  infantry,  janis- 
saries, spahis.  Each  pasha  led  the  troops  of  his  own 
pashalik,  therefore  inhabitants  of  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa. 
Behind  them  came  an  enormous  camp  with  loaded  wagons 
drawn  by  mules  and  buffaloes.  That  hundred-colored 
swarm,  in  various  dresses  and  arms,  moved  without  end. 
From  dawn  till  night  those  leaders  marched  without  stop- 
ping, moved  fi-om  one  place  to  another,  stationed  troops, 
circled  about  in  the  fields,  pitched  tents,  which  occupied 
such  a  space  that  from  the  towers  and  highest  points  of 
Kamenyets  it  was  possible  in  no  wise  to  see  fields  free 
from  canvas.  It  seemed  to  people  that  snow  had  fallen 
and  filled  the  whole  region  about  them.  The  camp  was  laid 
out  during  salvos  of  musketry,  for  the  janissaries  shielding 
that  work  did  not  cease  to  fire  at  the  walls  of  the  fortress ; 
from  the  walls  an  unbroken  cannonade  answered.  Echoes 
were  thundering  from  the  cliffs  ;  smoke  rose  and  covered 
the  blue  of  the  sky.  Toward  evening  Kamenyets  was 
enclosed  in  such  fashion  that  nothing  save  pigeons  could 
leave  it.  Firing  ceased  only  when  the  first  stars  began  to 
twinkle. 

For  a  number  of  succeeding  days  firing  from  the  walls 
and  at  the  walls  continued  without  interruption.  The 
result  was  great  damage  to  the  besiegers ;  the  moment  a 
considerable  group  of  janissaries  collected  within  range, 
white  smoke  bloomed  out  on  the  walls,  balls  fell  among  the 


PAN  MICHAEL.  469 

janissaries,  and  they  scattered  as  a  flock  of  sparrows  when 
some  one  sends  tine  shot  at  them  from  a  musket.  Mean- 
while the  Turks,  not  knowing  evidently  that  in  both 
castles  and  in  the  town  there  were  guns  of  long  range, 
pitched  their  tents  too  near.  This  was  permitted,  by  the 
advice  of  Pan  Michael ;  and  only  when  time  of  rest  came,  and 
troops,  escaping  from  heat,  had  crowded  into  those  tents, 
did  the  walls  roar  with  continuous  thunder.  Then  rose  a 
panic  j  balls  tore  tents,  broke  poles,  struck  soldiers,  hurled 
around  sharp  fragments  of  rocks.  The  janissaries  with- 
drew in  dismay  and  disorder,  crying  with  loud  voices ;  in 
their  retreat  they  overturned  other  tents,  and  carried  alarm 
with  them  everywhere.  On  the  men  disordered  in  this 
way  Pan  Michael  fell  with  cavalry,  and  cut  them  till  strong 
bodies  of  horsemen  came  to  their  aid.  Ketling  directed 
this  fire  mainly ;  besides  him,  the  Polish  mayor  made  the 
greatest  havoc  among  the  Pagans.  He  bent  over  every 
gun,  applied  the  match  himself,  and  covering  his  eyes  with 
his  hand,  looked  at  the  result  of  the  shot,  and  rejoiced  in 
his  heart  that  he  was  working  so  effectively. 

The  Turks  were  digging  approaches,  however,  making 
intrenchments  and  fixing  heavy  guns  in  them.  But  before 
they  began  to  fire  from  these  guns,  an  envoy  of  the  Turks 
came  under  the  walls,  and  fastening  to  a  dart  a  letter  from 
the  Sultan,  showed  it  to  the  besieged.  Dragoons  were  sent 
outj  these  brought  the  envoy  at  once  to  the  castle.  The 
Sultan,  summoning  the  town  to  surrender,  exalted  his  own 
might  and  clemency  to  the  skies. 

"My  army"  (wrote  he)  "  may  be  compared  to  the  leaves  of  the 
forest  and  the  sands  of  the  sea.  Look  at  the  heavens  ;  and  when  you 
see  the  countless  stars,  rouse  fear  in  your  hearts,  and  say  one  to 
another,  '  Behold,  such  is  the  power  of  the  believers  ! '  But  because 
I  am  a  sovereign,  gracious  above  other. sovereigns,  and  a  grandson 
of  the  God  of  Justice,  I  receive  my  right  from  above.  Know  that 
I  hate  stubborn  men;  do  not  oppose,  then,  my  will,  surrender  your 
town.  If  you  resist,  you  will  all  perish  under  the  sword,  and  no 
voice  of  man  will  rise  against  me." 

They  considered  long  what  response  to  give  to  that 
letter,  and  rejected  the  impolitic  counsel  of  Zagloba  to  cut 
off  a  dog's  tail  and  send  it  in  answer.  They  despatched  a 
clever  man  skilled  in  Turkish;  Yuritsa  was  his  name.  He 
bore  a  letter  which  read  as  follows :  — 


470  PAN   MICHAEL. 

"  We  do  not.  wish  to  anger  the  Sultan,  but  we  do  not  hold  it  our 
duty  lo  obey  him,  for  we  have  not  taken  oath  to  him,  but  to  our  own 
lord.  Kamenyets  we  will  not  surrender,  for  an  oath  binds  us  to 
defend  the  fortresses  and  churches  while  our  lives  last." 


After  this  answer  the  officers  went  to  their  places  on  the 
walls.  Bishop  Lautskoronski  and  the  starosta  took  advan- 
tage of  this,  and  sent  a  new  letter  to  the  Sultan,  asking  of 
him  an  armistice  for  four  weeks.  When  news  of  this  went 
along  the  gates,  an  uproar  and  clatter  of  sabres  began. 
"  But  I  believe,''  repeated  this  man  and  that,  "  that  we  are 
here  burning  at  the  guns,  and  behind  our  shoulders  they 
are  sending  letters  without  our  knowledge,  though  we  are 
members  of  the  council."  At  the  evening  kindya  the 
officers  went  in  a  body  to  the  starosta,  with  the  little 
knight  and  Pan  Makovetski  at  their  head,  both  greatly 
afflicted  at  what  had  happened. 

"  How  is  this  ?  "  asked  Makovetski.  "  Are  you  thinking 
already  of  surrender,  that  you  have  sent  a  new  envoy  ? 
Why  has  this  happened  without  our  knowledge  ?  " 

"  In  truth,"  added  the  little  knight,  "  since  we  are  called 
to  a  council,  it  is  not  right  to  send  letters  without  our 
knowledge.  Neither  will  we  permit  any  one  to  mention 
surrender ;  if  any  one  wishes  to  mention  it,  let  him  with- 
draw from  authority." 

While  speaking  he  was  terribly  roused ;  being  a  soldier 
of  rare  obedience,  it  caused  him  the  utmost  pain  to  speak 
thus  against  his  superiors.  But  since  he  had  sworn  to 
defend  the  castle  till  his  death  he  thought,  "It  behooves 
me  to  speak  thus." 

The  starosta  was  confused  and  answered,  "I  thought 
this  was  done  with  general  consent." 

"  There  is  no  consent.  We  will  die  here ! "  cried  a 
number  of  voices. 

"  I  am  glad  to  hear  that,"  said  the  starosta ;  "  for  in  me 
faith  is  dearer  than  life,  and  cowardice  has  never  come 
near  me,  and  will  not.  Remain,  gracious  gentlemen,  to 
supper ;  we  will  come  to  agreement  more  easily." 

But  they  would  not  remain. 

"  Our  place  is  at  the  gates,  not  at  the  table,"  said  the 
little  knight. 

At  this  time  the  bishop  arrived,  and  learning  what  the 
question  was,  turned  at  once  to  Pan  Makovetski  and 
Volodyovski. 


PAN   MICHAEL.  ,        47] 

"  Worthy  men ! "  said  he,  "  each  has  the  same  thing  at 
heart  as  you,  and  no  one  has  mentioned  surrender.  I  sent 
to  ask  for  an  armistice  of  four  weeks ;  I  wrote  as  follows ; 
'  During  that  time  we  will  send  to  our  king  for  succor,  and 
await  his  instructions,  and  further  that  will  be  which  God 
gives.'  " 

When  the  little  knight  heard  this  he  was  excited  anew, 
but  this  time  because  rage  carried  him  away,  and  scorn  at 
ouch  a  conception  of  military  matters.  He,  a  soldier  since 
childhood,  could  not  believe  his  ears,  could  not  believe  that 
any  man  would  propose  a  truce  to  an  enemy,  so  as  to  have 
time  himself  to  send  for  succor. 

The  little  knight  looked  at  Makovetski  and  then  at  other 
officers  ;  they  looked  at  him.  "  Is  this  a  jest  ?  "  asked  a 
number  of  voices.  Then  all  were  silent. 

"  I  fought  through  the  Tartar,  Cossack,  Moscow,  and 
Swedish  wars,"  said  Pan  Michael,  at  last,  "and  I  have 
never  heard  of  such  reasons.  The  Sultan  has  not  come 
hither  to  please  us,  but  himself.  How  will  he  consent  to 
an  armistice,  when  we  write  to  him  that  at  the  end  of  that 
time  we  expect  aid  ?  " 

"  If  he  does  not  agree,  there  will  be  nothing  different; 
from  what  there  is  now,"  said  the  bishop. 

'•  Whoso  begs  for  an  armistice  exhibits  fear  and  weak- 
ness, and  whoso  looks  for  succor  mistrusts  his  own  power. 
The  Pagan  dog  believes  this  of  us  from  that  letter,  and 
thereby  irreparable  harm  has  been  done." 

"  I  might  be  somewhere  else,"  said  the  bishop  ;  "  and 
because  I  did  not  desert  my  flock  in  time  of  need,  I  endure 
reprimand.'' 

The  little  knight  was  sorry  at  once  for  the  worthy 
prelate ;  therefore  he  took  him  by  the  knees,  kissed  his 
hands,  and  said,  — 

"  God  keep  me  from  giving  any  reprimand  here ;  but 
since  there  is  a  council,  I  utter  what  experience  dictates  to 
me." 

"  What  is  to  be  done,  then  ?  Let  the  fault  be  mine;  but 
what  is  to  be  done  ?  How  repair  the  evil  ?  "  asked  tho 
bishop. 

"  How  repair  the  evil  ?  "  repeated  Volodyovski. 

And  thinking  a  moment,  he  raised  his  head  joyously,  — 

"  Well,  it  is  possible.  Gracious  gentlemen,  I  pray  you  to 
follow  me.'' 

He  went  out,  and  after  him  the  officers.     A  quarter  of  an 


472  PAN   MICHAEL. 

hour  later  all  Kamenyets  was  trembling  from  the  thunder 
of  cannon.  Volodyovski  rushed  out  with  volunteers ;  and 
falling  upon  sleeping  janissaries  in  the  approaches,  he 
slashed  them  till  he  scattered  and  drove  the  whole  force 
to  the  tabor. 

Then  he  returned  to  the  starosta,  with  whom  he  found  the 
bishop.  "  Here,"  said  he,  joyously,  —  "  here  is  help  for 
you." 


PAN   MICHAEL.  473 


CHAPTER  LV. 

AFTER  that  sortie  the  night  was  passed .  in  desultory 
firing;  at  daylight  it  was  announced  that  a  number  of  Turks 
were  standing  near  the  castle,  waiting  till  men  were  sent 
out  to  negotiate.  Happen  what  might,  it  was  needful  to 
know  what  they  wanted ;  therefore  Pan  Makovetski  and 
Pan  Myslishevski  were  appointed  at  the  council  to  go  out 
to  the  Pagans. 

A  little  later  Pan  Kaziinir  Humyetski  joined  them,  and 
they  went  forth.  There  were  three  Turks, —  Muhtar  Bey, 
Salomi,  the  pasha  of  Rushchuk,  and  the  third  Kozra,  an 
interpreter.  The  meeting  took  place  under  the  open  sky 
outside  the  gate  of  the  castle.  The  Turks,  at  sight  of  the 
envoys,  began  to  bow,  putting  their  finger-tips  to  their  hearts, 
mouths,  and  foreheads ;  the  Poles  greeted  them  politely, 
asking  why  they  had  come.  To  this  Salomi  answered,  — 

"  Dear  men  !  a  great  wrong  has  been  done  to  our  lord,  over 
which  all  who  love  justice  must  weep ;  and  for  which  He 
who  was  before  the  ages  will  punish  you,  if  you  do  not 
correct  .it  straightway.  Behold,  you  sent  out  of  your  own 
will  Yuritsa,  who  beat  with  the  forehead  to  our  vizir  and 
begged  him  for  a  cessation  of  arms.  When  we,  trusting  in 
your  virtue,  went  out  of  the  trenches,  you  began  to  fire  at  us 
from  cannon,  and  rushing  out  from  behind  walls,  covered 
the  road  with  corpses  as  far  as  the  tents  of  the  Padishah ; 
which  proceeding  cannot  remain  without  punishment,  un- 
less you  surrender  at  once  the  castles  and  the  town,  and 
show  great  regret  and  repentance." 

To  this  Makovetski  gave  answer, — 

"  Yuritsa  is  a  dog,  who  exceeded  his  instructions,  for  he 
ordered  his  attendant  to  hang  out  a  white  flag,  for  which 
ho  will  be  judged.  The  bishop  on  his  own  behalf  inquired 
privately  if  an  armistice  might  be  arranged ;  but  you  did 
not  cease  to  fire  in  time  of  sending  those  letters.  I  myself 
am  a  witness  of  that,  for  broken  stones  wounded  me  in  the 
mouth;  wherefore  you  have  not  the  right  to  ask  us  to 
cease  firing.  If  you  come  now  with  an  armistice  ready,  it 
is  well  j  if  not,  tell  your  lord,  dear  men,  that  we  will  defend 


474  PAN   MICHAEL. 

the  walls  and  the  town  as  before,  until  we  perish,  or  what 
is  more  certain,  till  you  perish,  in  these  rocks.  We  have 
nothing  further  to  give  you,  except  wishes  that  God  may 
increase  your  days,  and  permit  you  to  live  to  old  age." 

After  this  conversation  the  envoys  separated  straightway. 
The  Turks  returned  to  the  vizir ;  Makovetski,  Humyetski, 
and  Myslishevski  to  the  castle.  They  were  covered  with 
questions  as  .to  how  they  had  sent  off  the  envoys.  They 
related  the  Turkish  declaration. 

"  Do  not  receive  it,  dear  brothers,"  said  Kazimir  Humy- 
etski. "  In  brief,  these  dogs  wish  that  we  should  give  up 
the  keys  of  the  town  before  evening." 

To  this  many  voices  gave  answer,  repeating  the  favorite 
expression,  — 

"  That  Pagan  dog  will  not  grow  fat  with  us.  We  will  not 
surrender ;  we  will  drive  him  away  in  confusion.  We  do 
not  want  him." 

After  such  a  decision,  all  separated ;  and  firing  began  at 
once.  The  Turks  had  succeeded  already  in  putting  many 
heavy  guns  in  position;  and  their  balls,  passing  the  "breast- 
works," began  to  fall  into  the  town.  Cannoneers  in  the 
town  and  the  castles  worked  in  the  sweat  of  their  foreheads 
the  rest  of  the  day  and  all  night.  When  any  one  fell,  there 
was  no  man  to  take  his  place ,  there  was  a  lack  also  of  men 
to  carry  balls  and  powder.  Only  before  daybreak  did  the  up- 
roar cease  somewhat.  But  barely  was  the  day  growing  gray 
in  the  east,  and  the  rosy  gold-edged  belt  of  dawn  appearing, 
when  in  both  castles  the  alarm  was  sounded.  Whoso  was 
sleeping  sprang  to  his  feet;  drowsy  throngs  came  out  on 
the  streets,  listening  carefully.  "They  are  preparing  for 
an  assault,"  said  some  to  others,  pointing  to  the  side  of  the 
castle."  "  But  is  Pan  Volodyovski  there  ?  "  asked  alarmed 
voices.  "  He  is,  he  is  !  "  answered  others. 

In  the  castles  they  rang  the  chapel  bells,  and  rattling  of 
drums  was  heard  on  all  sides.  In  the  half-light,  half-dark- 
ness of  morning,  when  the  town  was  comparatively 
quiet,  those  voices  seemed  mysterious  and  solemn.  At  tliat 
moment  the  Turks  played  the  "kindya;"'  one  band  gave 
the  sounds  to  another,  and  they  ran  in  that  way,  like  an 
echo,  through  the  whole  immense  tabor.  The  Pagan 
swarms  began  to  move  around  the  tents.  At  the  rising  day 
the  towering  intrenchments,  ditches,  and  approaches  came 
out  of  the  darkness,  stretching  in  a  long  line  at  the  side  of 
the  castle.  The  heavy  Turkish  guns  roared  at  once  along 


PAN  MICHAEL.  475 

its  whole  length ;  the  cliffs  of  the  Smotrych  roared  back  in 
thundering  echo;  and  the  noise  was  as  awful  and  terrible 
as  if  all  the  thunders  in  the  storehouse  of  heaven  hud 
flashed  and  shot  down  together,  bringing  with  them  the 
dome  of  clouds  to  the  earth. 

That  was  a  battle  of  artillery.  The  town  and  the  castles 
gave  mighty  answers.  Soon  smoke  veiled  the  sun  and  the 
light;  the  Turkish  works  were  invisible.  Kamenyets  was 
hidden ;  only  one  gray  enormous  cloud  was  to  be  seen,  filled  in 
the  Interior  with  lightning,  with  thunder  and  roaring.  But 
the  Turkish  guns  carried  farther  than  those  of  the  town. 
Soon  death  began  to  cut  people  down  in  Kamenyets.  A 
number  of  cannon  were  dismounted.  In  service  at  the  arque- 
buses, two  or  three  men  fell  at  a  time.  A  Franciscan  Father, 
who  was  blessing  the  guns,  had  his  nose  and  part  of  his  lip 
carried  off  by  a  wedge  from  under  a  cannon ;  two  very 
brave  Jews  who  assisted  in  working  that  cannon  were 
killed. 

But  the  Turkish  guns  struck  mainly  at  the  intrenchment 
of  the  town.  Pan  Kazimir  Humyetski  sat  there  like  a 
salamander,  in  the  greatest  fire  and  smoke :  one  half  of 
his  company  had  fallen ;  nearly  all  of  those  who  remained 
were  wounded.  He  himself  lost  speech  and  hearing  ;  but 
with  the  aid  of  the  Polish  mayor  he  forced  the  enemy's 
battery  to  silence,  at  least  until  new  guns  were  brought  to 
replace  the  old  ones. 

A  day  passed,  a  second,  a  third ;  and  that  dreadful  "  col- 
loquium "  of  cannon  did  not  cease  for  an  instant.  The 
Turks  changed  gunners  four  times  a  day ;  but  in  the  town 
the  very  same  men  had  to  work  all  the  time  without  sleep, 
almost  without  food,  stifled  from  smoke;  many  were 
wounded  from  broken  stones  and  fragments  of  cannon 
carriages.  The  soldiers  endured ;  but  the  hearts  began  to 
weaken  in  the  inhabitants.  It  was  necessary  at  last  to 
drive  them  with  clubs  to  the  cannon,  where  they  fell  thickly. 
Happily,  in  the  evening  of  the  third  day  and  through  the 
night  following,  from  Thursday  till  Friday,  the  main  can- 
nonading was  turned  on  the  castles. 

They  were  both  covered,  but  especially  the  old  one,  with 
bombs  from  great  mortars,  which,  however,  "  harmed  little, 
since  in  darkness  each  bomb  was  discernible,  and  a  man 
could  avoid  it."  But  toward  evening,  when  such  weariness 
seized  men  that  they  fell  off  their  feet  from  drowsiness,  they 
perished  often  enough. 


476  PAN  MICHAEL. 

The  little  knight,  Ketling,  Myslishevski,  and  Kvasi 
brotski  answered  the  Turkish  fire  from  the  castles.  The 
starosta  looked  in  at  them  repeatedly,  and  advanced  amid  a 
hail  of  bullets,  anxious,  but  regardless  of  danger. 

Toward  evening,  however,  when  the  fire  had  increased 
still  more,  Pan  Pototski  approached  Pan  Michael. 

"  Gracious  Colonel,"  said  he,  "  we  shall  not  hold  out." 

"While  they  confine  themselves  to  firing  we  shall  hold 
out,"  answered  the  little  knight ;  u  but  they  will  blow  us 
out  of  here  with  mines,  for  they  are  making  them." 

"  Are  they  really  mining  ? "  asked  the  starosta,  in 
alarm. 

"  Seventy  cannon  are  playing,  and  their  thunder  is  almost 
unceasing;  still,  there  are  moments  of  quiet.  When  such 
a  moment  comes,  put  down  your  ear  carefully  and  listen." 

At  that  time  it  was  not  needful  to  wait  long,  especially 
as  an  accident  came  to  their  aid.  One  of  the  Turkish  siege- 
guns  burst;  that  caused  a  certain  disorder.  They  sent  from 
other  intrenchments  to  inquire  what  had  happened,  and 
there  was  a  lull  in  cannonading. 

Pan  Michael  and  the  starosta  approached  the  very  end  of 
one  of  the  projections  of  the  castle,  and  began  to  listen. 
After  a  certain  time  their  ears  caught  clearly  enough  the 
resonant  sound  of  hammers  in  the  cliff. 

"  They  are  pounding,"  said  the  starosta. 

"  They  are  pounding,"  said  the  little  knight. 

Then  they  were  silent.  Great  alarm  appeared  on  the 
face  of  the  starosta;  he  raised  his  hands  and  pressed  his 
temples.  Seeing  this,  Pan  Michael  said,  — 

"  This  is  a  usual  thing  in  all  sieges.  At  Zbaraj  they 
were  digging  under  us  night  and  day." 

The  starosta  raised  his  hand:  "What  did  Prince 
Yeremi  do?" 

"He  withdrew  from  intrenchments  of  wide  circuit 
into  narrower  ones." 

"  But  what  should  we  do  ?  " 

"We  should  take  the  guns,  and  with  them  all  that  is 
movable,  and  transfer  them  to  the  old  castle ;  for  the  old 
one  is  founded  on  rocks  that  the  Turks  cannot  blow  up  with 
mines.  I  have  thought  always  that  the  new  castle  would 
serve  merely  for  the  first  resistance ;  after  that  we  must 
blow  it  up  with  powder,  and  the  real  defence  will  begin 
in  the  old  one." 

A  moment  of  silence  followed;  and  the  starosta  bent  his 
anxious  head  again. 


PAN  MICHAEL.  477 

"But  if  we  have  to  withdraw  from  the  old  castle,  where 
shall  we  go  ?  "  asked  he,  with  a  broken  voice. 

At  that,  the  little  knight  straightened  himself,  and 
pointed  with  his  linger  to  the  earth:  "I  shall  go  there." 

At  that  moment  the  guns  roared  again,  and  a  whole  flock 
of  bombs  began  to  fly  to  the  castle ;  but  as  darkness  was  in 
the  world,  they  could  be  seen  perfectly.  Pan  Michael  took 
leave  of  the  general,  and  went  along  the  walls.  Going  from 
one  battery  to  another,  he  encouraged  men  everywhere,  gave 
advice ;  at  last,  meeting  with  Ketling,  he  said,  — 

"  Well,  how  is  it  ?  " 

Ketling  smiled  pleasantly. 

"  It  is  clear  as  day  from  the  bombs,"  said  he,  pressing  the 
little  knight's  hand.  "  They  do  not  spare  fire  on  us." 

"  A  good  gun  of  theirs  burst.     Did  you  burst  it  ?  " 

"  I  did." 

"  I  am  terribly  sleepy." 

"And  i  too,  but  there  is  no  time." 

"  Ai,"  said  Pan  Michael ;  "  and  the  little  wives  must  be 
frightened;  at  thought  of  that,  sleep  goes  away." 

"  They  are  praying  for  us,"  said  Ketling,  raising  his  eyes 
toward  the  flying  bombs. 

"  God  give  them  health  ! "  said  Pan  Michael. 

"Among  earthly  women,"  began  Ketling,  "there  are 
none  — 

But  he  did  not  finish,  for  the  little  knight,  turning  at 
that  moment  toward  the  interior  of  the  castle,  cried 
suddenly,  in  a  loud  voice,  — 

"  For  God's  sake  !     Save  us !    What  do  I  see  ?  * 

And  he  sprang  forward. 

Ketling  looked  around  with  astonishment.  At  a  few 
paces  distant,  in  the  court  of  the  castle,  he  saw  Basia,  with 
Zagloba  and  the  Lithuanian,  Pyentka. 

"  To  the  wall !  to  the  wall !  "  cried  the  little  knight, 
dragging  them  as  quickly  as  possible  to  the  cover  of  the 
battlements.  "  For  God's  sake  !  " 

"  Ha ! "  said  Zagloba,  with  a  broken  voice,  and  panting ; 
"  help  yourself  here  with  such  a  woman,  if  you  please.  I 
remonstrate  with  her,  saying,  '  You  will  destroy  yourself 
and  me.*  I  kneel  down,  —  no  use.  Was  I  to  let  her  go 
alone  ?  Uh  !  No  help,  no  help  I  '  I  will  go ;  I  will  go,' 
said  I.  Here  she  is  for  you  !  " 

Basia  had  fear  in  her  face,  and  her  brow  was  quivering 
as  if  before  weeping.  But  it  was  not  bombs  that  she  feared, 


478  PAN  MICHAEL. 

nor  the  whizzing  of  balls,  nor  fragments  of  stones,  but  the 
anger  of  her  husband.  Therefore  she  clasped  her  hands 
like  a  child  fearing  punishment,  and  exclaimed,  with 
sobbing  voice,  — 

"  I  could  not,  Michael  dear ;  as  I  love  you,  I  could  not. 
Be  not  angry,  Michael.  I  cannot  stay  there  when  you  are 
perishing  here.  I  cannot ;  I  cannot !  '•' 

He  had  begun  to  be  angry  indeed,  and  had  cried,  "Basia, 
you  have  no  fear  of  God !  "  but  sudden  tenderness  seized 
him,  his  voice  stuck  in  his  throat;  and  only  when  that  dear- 
est bright  head  was  resting  on  his  breast,  did  he  say,  — 

"  You  are  my  faithful  friend  until  death; "  and  he  embraced 
her. 

But  Zagloba,  pressing  up  to  the  wall,  said  to  Ketling  : 
"  And  yours  wished  to  come,  but  we  deceived  her,  saying 
that  we  were  not  coining.  How  could  she  come  in  such  a 
condition  ?  A  general  of  artillery  will  be  born  to  you.  I  'in 
a  rogue  if  it  will  not  be  a  general.  Well,  on  the  bridge 
from  the  town  to  the  castle,  the  bombs  are  falling  like  peas. 
I  thought  I  should  burst,  —  from  anger,  not  from  fear 
I  slipped  on  sharp  pieces  of  shell,  and  cut  my  skin.  I  shall 
not  be  able  to  sit  down  without  pain  for  a  week.  The  nuns 
will  have  to  rub  me,  without  minding  modesty.  Uf  !  But 
those  rascals  are  shooting.  May  the  thunderbolts  shoot 
them  away  !  Pan  Pototski  wants  to  yield  the  command  to 
me.  Give  the  soldiers  a  drink,  or  they  will  not  hold  out. 
See  that  bomb !  It  will  fall  somewhere  near  us.  Hide 
yourself,  Basia !  As  God  lives,  it  will  fall  near !  *' 

But  the  bomb  fell  far  away,  not  near,  for  it  fell  on  the 
roof  of  the  Lutheran  church  in  the  old  castle.  Since  the 
dome  was  very  strong,  ammunition  had  been  carried  in 
there ;  but  this  missile  broke  the  dome,  and  set  fire  to  the 
powder.  A  mighty  explosion,  louder  than  the  thunder  of 
cannon,  shook  the  foundations  of  both  castles.  From  the 
battlement,  voices  of  terror  were  heard.  Polish  and  Turkish 
cannon  were  silent. 

Ketling  left  Zagloba,  and  Volodyovski  left  Basia.  Both 
sprang  to  the  walls  with  all  the  strength  in  their  limbs. 
For  a  time  it  was  heard  how  both  gave  commands  with 
panting  breasts;  but  the  rattle  of  drums  in  the  Turkish 
trenches  drowned  their  commands. 

"  They  will  make  an  assault !  "  whispered  Zagloba. 

In  fact,  the  Turks,  hearing  the  explosion,  imagined 
apparently  that  both  castles  were  destroyed,  the  defenders 


PAN    MICIIAKL.  479 

partly  buried  in  the  ruins,  and  partly  seized  with  fear. 
With  that  thought,  they  prepared  for  the  storm.  Fools  ! 
they  knew  not  that  only  the  Lutheran  church  had  gone 
into  the  air.  The  explosion  had  produced  no  other  effect 
than  the  shock ;  not  even  a  gun  had  fallen  from  its  carriage 
in  the  new  castle.  But  in  the  intrenchments  the  rattle  of 
drums  grew  more  and  more  hurried.  Crowds  of  janissaries 
pushed  out  of  the  intrenchments,  and  ran  with  quick  steps 
toward  the  castle.  Fires  in  the  castle  and  in  the  Turkish 
trenches  were  quenched,  it  is  true ;  but  the  night  was  clear, 
and  in  the  light  of  the  moon  a  dense  mass  of  white  caps 
were  visible,  sinking  and  rising  in  the  rush,  like  waves 
stirred  by  wind.  A  number  of  thousands  of  janissaries  and 
several  hundred  volunteers  were  running  forward  with  rage 
and  the  hope  of  certain  victorj7  in  their  hearts ;  but  many  of 
them  were  never  again  to  see  the  minarets  of  Stambul,  the 
bright  waters  of  the  Bosphorus,  and  the  dark  cypresses  of 
the  cemeteries. 

Pan  Michael  ran,  like  a  spirit,  along  the  walls.  "  Don't 
fire  !  Wait  for  the  word !  "  cried  he,  at  every  gun. 

The  dragoons  were  lying  flat  at  the  battlements,  panting 
with  rage.  Silence  followed  ;  there  was  no  sound  but  that 
of  the  quick  tread  of  the  janissariesf  like  low  thunder. 
The  nearer  they  came,  the  more  certain  they  felt  of  taking 
both  castles  at  a  blow.  Many  thought  that  the  remnant  of 
the  defenders  had  withdrawn  to  the  town,  and  that  the  bat- 
tlements were  empty.  When  they  had  run  to  the  fosse, 
they  began  to  fill  it  with  fascines  and  bundles  of  straw,  and 
filled  it  in  a  twinkle.  On  the  walls,  the  stillness  was 
unbroken. 

But  when  the  first  ranks  stood  on  the  stuff  with  which 
the  fosse  had  been  filled,  in  one  of  the  battlement  openings 
a  pistol-shot  was  heard ;  then  a  shrill  voice  shouted,  — 

"  Fire ! " 

At  the  same  time  both  bulwarks,  and  the  prolongation 
joining  them,  gleamed  with  a  long  flash  of  flame.  The 
thunder  of  cannon,  the  rattle  of  musketry,  and  the  shouts 
of  the  assailants  were  mingled.  When  a  dart,  hurled  by 
the  hand  of  a  strong  beater,  sinks  half  its  length  in  the 
belly  of  a  bear,  he  rolls '  himself  into  a  bundle,  roars, 
struggles,  flounders,  straightens,  and  again  rolls  himself;  thus 
precisely  did  the  throng  of  janissaries  and  volunteers.  Not 
one  shot  of  the  defenders  was  wasted.  Cannon  loaded  with 
grape  laid  men  flat  as  a  pavement,  just  as  a  fierce  wind 


480  PAN  MICHAEL. 

levels  standing  grain  with  one  breath.  Those  who  attacked 
the  extension,  joining  the  bulwarks,  found  themselves  under 
three  fires,  and  seized  with  terror,  became  a  disordered  mass 
in  the  centre,  falling  so  thickly  that  they  formed  a  quiver- 
ing mound.  Ketling  poured  grape-shot  from  two  cannon 
into  that  group ;  at  last,  when  they  began  to  flee,  he  closed, 
with  a  rain  of  lead  and  iron,  the  narrow  exit  between  the 
bulwarks. 

The  attack  was  repulsed  on  the  whole  line,  when  the 
janissaries,  deserting  the  fosse,  ran,  like  madmen,  with  a 
howl  of  terror.  They  began  in  the  Turkish  intrenchments 
to  hurl  flaming  tar  buckets  and  torches,  and  burn  artificial 
fires,  making  day  of  night,  so  as  to  illuminate  the  road  for 
the  fugitives,  and  to  make  pursuit  difficult  for  a  sortie. 

Meanwhile  Pan  Michael,  seeing  that  crowd  enclosed 
between  the  bulwarks,  shouted  for  his  dragoons,  and  went 
out  against  them.  The  unfortunate  Turks  tried  once  more 
to  escape  through  the  exit;  but  Ketling  covered  them  so 
terribly  that  he  soon  blocked  the  place  with  a  pile  of  bodies 
as  high  as  a  wall.  It  remained  to  the  living  to  perish ;  for 
the  besieged  would  not  take  prisoners,  hence  they  began  to 
defend  themselves  desperately.  Strong  men  collected  in 
little  groups  (two,  three,  five),  and  supporting  one  another 
with  their  shoulders,  armed  with  darts,  battle-axes,  daggers, 
and  sabres,  cut  madly.  Fear,  terror,  certainty  of  death, 
despair,  was  changed  in  them  into  one  feeling  of  rage. 
The  fever  of  battle  seized  them.  Some  rushed  in  fury 
single-handed  on  the  dragoons.  These  were  borne  apart 
on  sabres  in  a  twinkle.  That  was  a  struggle  of  two  furies ; 
for  the  dragoons,  from  toil,  sleeplessness,  and  hunger,  were 
possessed  by  the  anger  of  beasts  against  an  enemy  that 
they  surpassed  in  skill  in  using  cold  weapons ;  hence 
they  spread  terrible  disaster. 

Ketling.  wishing  on  his  part  to  make  the  scene  of  struggle 
more  visible,  gave  command  to  ignite  tar  buckets,  and  in 
the  light  of  them  could  be  seen  irrestrainable  Mazovians 
fighting  against  janissaries  with  sabres,  dragging  them  by 
the  heads  and  beards.  The  savage  Lusnia  raged  specially, 
like  a  wild  bull.  At  the  other  wing  Pan  Michael  himself 
was  fighting;  seeing  that  Basia-was  looking  at  him  from 
the  walls,  he  surpassed  himself.  As  when  a  venomous 
weasel  breaks  into  grain  where  a  swarm  of  mice  are  living, 
and  makes  terrible  slaughter  among  them,  so  did  the  little 
knight  rush  like  a  spirit  of  destruction  among  the  janis- 


PAN   MICHAEL.  481 

saries.  His  name  was  known  to  the  besiegers  already, 
both  from  previous  encounters  and  from  the  narratives  of 
Turks  in  Hotin.  There  was  a  general  opinion  that  no 
man  who  met  him  could  save  himself  from  death ;  hence 
many  a  janissary  of  those  enclosed  between  the  bulwarks, 
seeing  Pan  Michael  suddenly  in  front,  did  not  even  defend 
himself,  but  closing  his  eyes,  died  under  the  thrust  of  the 
little  knight's  rapier,  with  the  word  "kismet"  on  his  lips. 
Finally  resistance  grew  weak;  the  remnant  of  the  Turks 
rushed  to  that  wall  of  bodies  which  barred  the  exit,  and 
there  they  were  finished. 

The  dragoons  returned  now  through  the  filled  fosse  with 
srnging,  shouting,  and  panting,  with  the  odor  of  blood  on 
them;  a  number  of  cannon-shots  were  fired  from  the  Turk- 
ish intrenchments  and  the  castle ;  then  silence  followed. 
Thus  ended  that  artillery  battle  which  lasted  some  days, 
and  was  crowned  by  the  storm  of  the  janissaries. 

"  Praise  be  to  God,"  said  the  little  knight,  "  there  will  be 
rest  till  the  morning  kindya  at  least,  and  in  justice  it 
belongs  to  us." 

But  that  was  an  apparent  rest  only,  for  when  night  was 
still  deeper  they  heard  in  the  silence  the  sound  of  hammers 
beating  the  cliff. 

"That  is  worse  than  artillery,"  said  Ketling,  listening. 

"Now  would  be  the  time  to  make  a  sortie,"  said  the  little 
knight ;  "  but 't  is  impossible ;  the  men  are  too  weary.  They 
have  not  slept  and  they  have  not  eaten,  though  they  had 
food,  for  there  was  no  time  to  take  it.  Besides,  there  are 
always  some  thousands  on  guard  with  the  miners,  so  that 
there  may  be  no  opposition  from  our  side.  There  is  no  help 
but  to  blow  up  the  new  castle  ourselves,  and  withdraw  to 
the  old  one." 

"  That  is  not  for  to-day,"  answered  Ketling.  "  See,  the 
men  have  fallen  like  sheaves  of  grain,  and  are  sleeping 
a  stone  sleep.  The  dragoons  have  not  even  wiped  their 
swords." 

"  Basia,  it  is  time  to  go  home  and  sleep,"  said  the  little 
knight. 

"I  will,  Michael,"  answered  Basia,  obediently ;  "I  will 
go  as  you  command.  But  the  cloister  is  closed  now;  I 
shoiild  prefer  to  remain  and  watch  over  your  sleep." 

"It  is  a  wonder  to  me,"  said  the  little  knight,  "that  after 
such  toil  sleep  has  left  me,  and  I  have  »Q  wish  whatever  ^ 
rest  ray  be^d,," 


482  PAN  MICHAEL. 

"  Because  you  have  roused  your  blood  among  the  janis- 
saries," said  Zagloba.  "  It  was  always  so  with  me ;  after  a 
battle  I  could  never  sleep  in  any  way.  But  as  to  Basia, 
why  should  she  drag  herself  to  a  closed  gate  ?  Let  her 
remain  here  till  morning." 

Basia  pressed  Zagloba  with  delight ;  and  the  little  knight, 
seeing  how  much  she  wished  to  stay,  said,  — 

"  Let  us  go  to  the  chambers." 

They  went  in ;  but  the  place  was  full  of  lime-dust,  which 
the  cannon-balls  had  raised  by  shaking  the  walls.  It  was 
impossible  to  stay  there,  so  they  went  out  again,  and  took 
their  places  in  a  niche  made  when  the  old  gate  had  been 
walled  in.  Pan  Michael  sat  there,  leaning  against  tlfe 
masonry.  Basia  nestled  up  to  him,  like  a  child  to  its 
mother.  The  night  was  in  August,  warm  and  fragrant. 
The  moon  illuminated  the  niche  with  a  silver  light;  the 
faces  of  the  little  knight  and  Basia  were  bathed  in  its  rays. 
Lower  down,  in  the  court  of  the  castle,  were  groups  of 
sleeping  soldiers  and  the  bodies  of  those  slain  during  the 
cannonade,  for  there  had  been  no  time  yet  for  their  burial. 
The  calm  light  of  the  moon  crept  over  those  bodies,  as  if 
that  hermit  of  the  sky  wished  to  know  who  was  sleeping 
from  weariness  merely,  and  who  had  fallen  into  the  eternal 
slumber.  Farther  on  was  outlined  the  wall  of  the  main 
castle,  from  which  fell  a  black  shadow  on  one  half  of  the 
courtyard.  Outside  the  walls,  from  between  the  bulwarks, 
where  the  janissaries  lay  cut  down  with  sabres,  came  the 
voices  of  men.  They  were  camp  followers  and  those  of  the 
dragoons  to  whom  booty  was  dearer  than  slumber;  they 
were  stripping  the  bodies  of  the  slain.  Their  lanterns  were 
gleaming  on  the  place  of  combat  like  fireflies.  Some  of 
them  called  to  one  another;  and  one  was  singing  in  an 
undertone  a  sweet  song  not  beseeming  the  work  to  which 
he  was  given  at  the  moment :  — 

"  Nothing  is  silver,  nothing  is  gold  to  me  now, 
Nothing  is  fortune.    . 
Let  me  die  at  the  fence,  then,  of  hunger, 
If  only  near  thee." 

But  after  a  certain  time  that  movement  began  to  decrease, 
and  at  last  stopped  completely.  A  silence  set  in  which  was 
broken  only  by  the  distant  sound  of  the  hammers  breaking 
the  cliffs,  and  the  calls  of  the  sentries  on  the  walls.  That 
gileo.ee,  the  moonlight,  and  the  night  full  of  beauty  delighted 


PAN  MICHAEL.  433 

Pan  Michael  and  Basia.  A  yearning  came  upon  them,  it  is 
unknown  why,  and  a  certain  sadness,  though  pleasant.  Basia 
raised  her  eyes  to  her  husband ;  and  seeing  that  his  eyes 
were  open,  she  said,  — 

"  Michael,  you  are  not  sleeping." 

"  It  is  a  wonder,  but  I  cannot  sleep." 

"  It  is  pleasant  for  you  here  ?  " 

"  Pleasant.     But  for  you  ?  " 

'Basia  nodded  her  bright  head.     <•  Oh,  Michael,  so  pleas- 
ant !    ai,   ai !      Did    vou    not    hear   what   that    man    was 


singing  ?  " 

Here  she  repeated  the  last  words  of  the  little  song,  — 

"  Let  me  die  at  the  fence,  then,  of  hunger, 
If  only  near  thee." 

A  moment  of  silence  followed,  which  the  little  knight 
interrupted,  — 

"  But  listen,  Basia." 

"What,  Michael?" 

"To  tell  the  truth,  we  are  wonderfully  happy  with  each 
other ;  and  I  think  if  one  of  us  were  to  fall,  the  other  would 
grieve  beyond  measure." 

Basia  understood  perfectly  that  when  the  little  knight 
said  "if  one  of  us  were  to  fall,"  instead  of  die,  he  had 
himself  only  in  mind.  It  came  to  her  head  that  maybe 
he  did  not  expect  to  come  out  of  that  siege  alive,  that  he 
wished  to  accustom  her  to  that  termination ;  therefore  a 
dreadful  presentiment  pressed  her  heart,  and  clasping  her 
hands,  she  said,  — 

"  Michael,  have  pity  on  yourself  and  on  me  ! " 

The  voice  of  the  little  knight  was  moved  somewhat, 
though  calm. 

"  But  see,  Basia,  you  are  not  right,"  said  he ;  "  for  if  you 
only  reason  the  matter  out,  what  is  this  temporal  exist- 
ence ?  Why  break  .one's  neck  over  it  ?  Who  would  be 
satisfied  with  tasting  happiness  and  love  here  when  all 
breaks  like  a  dry  twig,  —  who  ?  " 

But  Basia  began  to  tremble  from  weeping,  and  to  repeat,  — 

"  I  will  not  hear  this  !  I  will  not !  I  will  not ! " 

"  As  God  is  dear  to  me,  you  are  not  right,"  repeated  the 
little  knight.  "  Look,  think  of  it :  there  above,  beyond 
that  quiet  moon,  is  a  country  of  bliss  without  end.  Of  such 
a  one  speak  to  me.  Whoever  reaches  that  meadow  will  draw 
breath  for  the  first  time,  as  if  after  a  long  journey,  and  will 


484  PAN   MICHAEL. 

feed  in  peace.  When  my  time  comes,  —  and  that  is  a  sol- 
dier's affair,  —  it  is  your  simple  duty  to  say  to  yourself : 
'  That  is  nothing  !  Michael  is  gone.  True,  he  is  gone  far, 
farther  than  from  hereto  Lithuania;  but  that  is  nothing, 
for  I  shall  follow  him.'  Basia,  be  quiet ;  do  not  weep. 
The  one  who  goes  first  will  prepare  quarters  for  the  other ; 
that  is  the  whole  matter." 

Here  there  came  on  him,  as  it  were,  a  vision  of  coming 
events;  for  he  raised  his  eyes  to  the  moonlight,  and 
continued,  — 

"  What  is  this  mortal  life  ?  Grant  that  I  am  there  first, 
waiting  till  some  one  knocks  at  the  heavenly  gate.  Saint 
Peter  opens  it.  I  look ;  who  is  that  ?  My  Basia !  Save  us  ! 
Oh,  I  shall  jump  then  !  Oh,  I  shall  cry  then  !  Dear  God, 
words  fail  nie.  And  there  will  be  no  tears,  only  endless 
rejoicing ;  and  there  will  be  no  Pagans,  nor  cannon,  nor 
mines  under  walls,  only  peace  and  happiness.  Ai,  Basia, 
remember,  this  life  is  nothing !  " 

"  Michael,  Michael !  "  repeated  Basia. 

And  again  came  silence,  broken  only  by  the  distant, 
monotonous  sound  of  the  hammers. 

"  Basia,  let  us  pray  together,"  said  Pan  Michael,  at  last. 

And  those  two  souls  began  to  pray.  As  they  prayed, 
peace  came  on  both ;  and  then  sleep  overcame  them,  -and 
they  slumbered  till  the  first  dawn. 

Pan  Michael  conducted  Basia  away  before  the  morning 
kindya  to  the  bridge  joining  the  old  castle  with  the  town. 
In  parting,  he  said,  — 

"  This  life  is  nothing  !  remember  that,  Basia." 


PAN  MICHAEL. 


CHAPTER  LVI. 

THE  thunder  of  cannon  shook  the  castles  and  the  town 
immediately  after  the  kindya.  The  Turks  had  dug  a  fosse 
at  the  side  of  the  castle,  five  hundred  yards  long ;  in  one 
place,  at  the  very  wall,  they  were  digging  deeply.  From 
that  fosse  there  went  against  the  walls  an  unceasing  fire 
from  janissary  muskets.  The  besieged  made  screens  of 
leather  bags  filled  with  wool ;  but  as  long  balls  and  bombs 
were  hurled  continually  from  the  intrenchments,  bodies  fell 
thickly  around  the  cannon.  At  one  gun  a  bomb  killed  six 
men  of  Volodyovski's  infantry  at  once ;  at  other  guns  men 
were  falling  continually.  Before  evening  the  leaders  saw 
that  they  could  hold  out  no  longer,  especially  as  the  mines 
might  be  exploded  any  moment.  In  the  night,  therefore, 
the  captains  led  out  their  companies,  and  before  morning 
they  had  transferred,  amid  unbroken  firing,  all  the  guns, 
powder,  and  supplies  of  provisions  to  the  old  castle.  That, 
being  built  on  a  rock,  could  hold  out  longer,  and  there  was 
special  difficulty  in  digging  under  it.  Pan  Michael,  when 
consulted  on  this  matter  at  the  council,  declared  that  if  no 
one  would  negotiate,  he  was  ready  'to  defend  it  a  year.  His 
words  went  to  the  town,  and  poured  great  consolation  into 
hearts,  for  people  knew  that  the  little  knight  would  keep 
his  word  even  at  the  cost  of  his  life. 

At  the  evacuation  of  the  new  castle,  strong  mines  were 
put  under  both  bulwarks  and  the  front.  These  exploded 
with  great  noise  about  noon,  but  caused  no  serious  loss  to 
the  Turks ;  for,  remembering  the  lesson  of  the  day  before, 
they  had  not  dared  yet  to  occupy  the  abandoned  place.  But 
both  bulwarks,  the  front  and  the  main  body  of  the  new 
castle,  formed  one  gigantic  pile  of  ruins.  These  ruins 
rendered  difficult,  it  is  true,  approach  to  the  old  castle ;  but 
they  gave  perfect  protection  to  sharpshooters,  and,  what  is 
worse,  to  the  miners,  who,  unterrified  at  sight  of  the  mighty 
cliff,  began  to  bore  a  new  mine.  Skilful  Italian  and  Hun- 
garian engineers,  in  the  service  of  the  Sultan,  were  overseers 
of  this  work,  which  advanced  rapidly.  The  besieged  could 

not  strike  the  enemy  either  from  c&imofl  er 


486  -PAN   MICHAEL. 

they  could  not  see  them.  Pan  Michaelwas  thinking  of  a 
sortie,  but  he  could  not  undertake  it  immediately ;  the 
soldiers  were  too  tired.  Blue  lumps  as  large  as  biscuits  had 
formed  on  the  right  shoulders  of  the  dragoons,  from  bring- 
ing gunstocks  against  them  continually.  Some  could  hardly 
move  their  arms.  It  became  evident  that  if  boring  were 
continued  some  time  without  interruption,  the  chief  gate  of 
the  castle  would  be  blown  into  the  air  beyond  doubt.  Fore- 
seeing this,  Pan  Michael  gave  command  to  make  a  high  wall 
behind  the  gate,  and  said,  without  losing  courage,  — 

"  But  what  do  I  care  ?  If  the  gate  is  blown  up,  we  will 
defend  ourselves  behind  the  wall ;  if  the  wall  is  blown  up, 
we  '11  have  a  second  one  made  previously,  and  so  on,  as  long 
as  we  feel  an  ell  of  ground  under  our  feet." 

"  But  when  the  ell  is  gone,  what  then  ? "  asked  the 
starosta. 

"  Then  we  shall  be  gone  too,"  said  the  little  knight. 

Meanwhile  he  gave  command  to  hurl  hand-grenades  at 
the  enemy ;  these  caused  much  damage.  Most  effective 
in  this  work  was  Lieutenant  Dembinski,  who  killed  Turks 
without  number,  until  a  grenade  ignited  too  soon,  burst  in 
his  hand,  and  tore  it  off.  In  this  manner  perished  Captain 
Schmit.  Many  fell  from  the  Turkish  artillery,  many  from 
musket-shots  fired  by  janissaries  hidden  in  the  ruins  of  the 
new  castle.  During  that  time  they  fired  rarely  from  the 
guns  of  the  castle  ;  this  troubled  the  council  not  a  little. 
"  They  are  not  firing ;  hence  it  is  evident  that  Volodyovski 
himself  has  doubts  of  the  defence."  Such  was  the  general 
opinion.  Of  the  officers  no  man  dared  to  say  first  that  it 
remained  only  to  seek  the  best  conditions,  but  the  bishop, 
free  of  military  ambition,  said  this  openly ;  but  previously 
Pan  Vasilkovski  was  sent  to  the  starosta  for  news  from  the . 
castle.  He  answered,  "  In  my  opinion  the  castle  cannot 
hold  out  till  evening,  but  here  they  think  otherwise." 

After  reading  this  answer,  even  the  officers  began  to  say, 
"  We  have  done  what  we  could.  No  one  has  spared  himself, 
but  what  is  impossible  cannot  be  done  ;  it  is  necessary  to 
think  of  conditions." 

These  words  reached  the  town,  and  brought  together  a 
great  crowd  of  people.  This  multitude  stood  before  the 
town-hall,  alarmed,  silent,  rather  hostile  than  inclined  to 
negotiations.  Some  rich  Armenian  merchants  were  glad  in 
their  hearts  that  the  siege  would  be  ended  and  trading 
begin' ;  but  other  Armenians,  long  settled  in  the  Common* 


PAN  MICHAEL.  487 

wealth  and  greatly  inclined  to  it,  as  well  as  Poles  and  Rus- 
sians, wished  to  defend  themselves.  "Had  we  wished  to 
surrender,  we  should  have  surrendered  at  first,"  was  whis- 
pered here  and  there  ;  "  we  could  have  received  much,  but 
now  conditions  will  not  be  favorable,  and  it  is  better  to  bury 
ourselves  under  ruins/' 

The  murmur  of  discontent  became  ever  louder,  till  all  at 
once  it  turned  into  shouts  of  enthusiasm  and  vivats. 

What  had  happened  ?  On  the  square  Pan  Michael 
appeared  in  company  with  Pan  Humyetski,  for  the  starosta 
had  sent  them  of  purpose  to  make  a  report  of  what  had  hap- 
pened in  the  castle.  Enthusiasm  seized  the  crowd.  Some 
shouted  as  if  the  Turks  had  already  broken  into  the  town  ; 
tears  came  to  the  eyes  of  others  at  sight  of  the  idolized 
knight,  on  whom  uncommon  exertions  were  evident.  His 
face  was  black  from  powder-smoke,  and  emaciated,  his  eyes 
were  red  and  sunken  ;  but  he  had  a  joyous  look.  When  he 
and  Humyetski  had  made  their  way  at  last  through  the 
crowd,  and  entered  the  council,  they  were  greeted  joyously. 
The  bishop  spoke  at  once. 

"Beloved    brothers,"    said    he,    "Nee    Hercules    contra 
•  plures  !  The  starosta  has  written  us  already  that  you  must 
surrender." 

To  this  Humyetski,  who  was  very  quick  to  action  and 
of  great  family,  not  caring  for  people,  said  sharply  :  "  The 
starosta  has  lost  his  head ;  but  he  has  this  virtue,  that  he 
exposes  it  to  danger.  As  to  the  defence,  let  Pan  Volo- 
dyovski  describe  it ;  he  is  better  able  to  do  so." 

All  eyes  were  turned  to  the  little  knight,  who  was  greatly 
moved,  and  said,  — 

"  For  God's  sake,  who  speaks  of  surrender  ?  Have  we 
not  sworn  to  the  living  God  to  fall  one  upon  another  ?  " 

"We  have  sworu  to  do  what  is  in  our  power,  and  we 
have  done  it,"  answered  the  bishop. 

"  Let  each  man  answer  for  what  he  has  promised !  Ket- 
ling  and  I  have  sworn  not  to  surrender  the  castle  till  death, 
and  we  will  not  surrender ;  for  if  I  am  bound  to  keep  the 
word  of  a  cavalier  to  every  man,  what  must  I  do  to  God, 
who  surpasses  all  in  majesty  ?  " 

"  But  how  is  it  with  the  castle  ?  We  have  heard  that 
there  is  a  mine  under  the  gate.  Will  you  hold  out  long  ?  " 
asked  numerous  voices. 

"  There  is  a  mine  under  the  gate,  or  there  will  be ;  but 
there  is  a  good  wall  behind  the  gate,  and  I  have  given  com- 


488  I"AN   MICHAEL. 

niand  to  put  falconets  on  it.  Dear  brothers,  fear  God's 
wounds ;  remember  that  in  surrendering  you  will  be  forced 
to  surrender  churches  into  the  hands  of  Pagans,  who  will 
turn  them  into  mosques,  to  celebrate  foulness  in  them. 
How  can  you  speak  of  surrender  with  such  a  light  heart  ? 
With  what  conscience  do  you  think  of  opening  before  the 
enemy  a  gate  to  the  heart  of  the  country  ?  1  am  in  the 
castle  and  fear  no  mines  ;  and  you  here  in  the  town,  far 
away,  are  afraid  !  By  the  dear  God  !  we  will  not  surrender 
while  we  are  alive.  Let  the  memory  of  this  defence 
remain  among  those  who  come  after  us,  like  the  memory 
of  Zbaraj." 

"The  Turks  will  turn  the  castle  into  a  pile  of  ruins," 
said  some  voice. 

"Let  them  turn  it.  We  can  defend  ourselves  from  a 
pile  of  ruins." 

Here  patience  failed  the  little  knight  somewhat. 

"  And  I  will  defend  myself  from  a  pile  of  ruins,  so  help 
me  God !  Finally,  I  tell  you  that  I  will  not  surrender  the 
castle.  Do  you  hear  ?  " 

"  But  will  you  destroy  the  town  ?  "  asked  the  bishop. 

"  If  to  go  against  the  Turks  is  to  destroy  it,  I  prefer  to- 
destroy  it.  I  have  taken  my  oath  ;  I  will  not  waste  more 
words  ;  I  will  go  back  among  cannon,  for  they  defend  the 
Commonwealth  instead  of  betraying  it." 

Then  he  went  out,  and  after  him  Humyetski,  who 
slammed  the  door.  Both  hastened  greatly,  for  they  felt 
really  better  among  ruins,  corpses,  and  balls  than  among 
men  of  little  faith.  Pan  Makovetski  came  up  with  them 
on  the  way. 

"  Michael,"  said  he,  "  tell  the  truth,  did  you  speak  of 
resistance  only  to  increase  courage,  or  will  you  be  able 
really  to  hold  out  in  the  castle  ?  " 

The  little  knight  shrugged  his  shoulders.  "  As  God  is 
dear  to  me  !  Let  the  town  not  surrender,  and  I  will  defend 
the  castle  a  year." 

"  Why  do  you  not  fire  ?  People  are  alarmed  on  that 
account,  and  talk  of  surrender." 

"  We  do  no't  fire,  because  we  are  busy  with  hand-grenades, 
which  have  caused  considerable  harm  in  the  mines." 

"Listen,  Michael,  have  you  in  the  castle  such  defence 
that  you  could  strike  at  the  Russian  gate  in  the  rear  ?  —  for 
if,  which  God  prevent,  the  Turks  break  through,  they  will 
60JBS  to  the  gate,  I  &in  watching  with,  aji  my 


PAN   MICHAEL.  439 

but  with  towns-people  only,  without  soldiers,  I  cannot 
succeed." 

To  which  the  little  knight  answered :  "  Fear  not,  dear 
brother ;  I  have  fifteen  cannon  turned  to  that  side.  Be  at 
rest  too  concerning  the  castle.  Not  only  shall  we  defend 
ourselves,  but  when  necessary  we  will  give  you  reinforce- 
ment at  the  gates." 

When  he  heard  this,  Makovetski  was  delighted  greatly, 
and  wished  to  go  away,  when  the  little  knight  detained 
him,  and  asked  further,  — 

"  Tell  me,  you  are  oftener  at  these  councils,  do  they  only 
wish  to  try  us,  or  do  they  intend  really  to  give  Kamenyets 
into  the  hands  of  the  Sultan  ?  " 

Makovetski  dropped  his  head.  "Michael,"  said  he, 
"  answer  truly  now,  must  it  not  end  in  that  ?  We  shall 
resist  awhile  yet,  a  week,  two  weeks,  a  month,  two  months, 
but  the  end  will  be  the  same." 

Volodyovski  looked  at  him  gloomily,  then  raising  his 
hands  cried,  — 

"  And  thou  too,  Brutus,  against  me  ?  Well,  in  that  case 
swallow  your  shame  alone  ;  I  am  not  used  to  such  diet." 

And  they  parted  with  bitterness  in  their  hearts. 

The  mine  under  the  main  gate  of  the  old  castle  exploded 
soon  after  Pan  Michael's  return.  Bricks  and  stones  flew ; 
dust  and  smoke  rose.  Terror  dominated  the  hearts  of  the 
gunners.  For  a  while  the  Turks  rushed  into  the  breach, 
as  rush  sheep  through  the  open  gate  of  a  sheepfold, 
when  the  shepherd  and  his  assistants  urge  them  in  with 
whips.  But  Ketling  breathed  on  that  crowd  with  cartridges 
from  six  cannon,  prepared  previously  on  the  wall ;  he 
breathed  once,  a  second,  a  third  time,  and  swept  them  out 
of  the  court.  Pan  Michael,  Humyetski,  and  Myslishevski 
hurried  up  with  infantry  and  dragoons,  who  covered  the 
walls  as  quickly  as  flies  on  a  hot  day  cover  the  carcass  of 
a  horse  or  an  ox.  A  struggle  began  then  between  muskets 
and  janissary  guns.  Balls  fell  on  the  wall  as  thickly  as 
falls  rain,  or  kernels  of  wheat  which  a  strong  peasant  hurls 
from  his  shovel.  The  Turks  were  swarming  in  the  ruins  of 
the  new  castle ;  in  every  depression,  behind  every  fragment, 
behind  every  stone,  in  every  opening  of  the  ruin,  they  sat 
in  twos,  threes,  fives,  and  tens,  and  fired  without  a  moment's 
intermission.  From  the  direction  of  Hotin  came  new 
reinforcements  continually.  Regiment  followed  regiment, 
and  crouching  down  among  the  ruins  began  fire  immedi- 


490  PAN   MICHAEL. 

ately.  The  new  castle  was  as  if  paved  with  turbans.  At 
times  those  masses  of  turbans  sprang  up  suddenly  with  a 
terrible  outcry,  and  ran  to  the  breach  ;  but  then  Ketling 
raised  his  voice,  the  bass  of  the  cannon  drowned  the  rattle 
of  musketry,  and  a  storm  of  grapeshot  with  whistling  and 
terrible  rattling  confused  the  crowd,  laid  them  on  the 
ground,  and  closed  up  the  breach  with  a  quivering  mass  of 
human  flesh.  Four  times  the  janissaries  rushed  forward ; 
four  times  Ketling  hurled  them  back  and  scattered  them, 
as  a  storm  scatters  a  cloud  of  leaves.  Alone  amid  fire, 
smoke,  showers  of  earth-clods,  and  bursting  grenades,  he 
was  like  an  angel  of  war.  His  eyes  were  fixed  on  the 
breach,  and  on  his  serene  forehead  not  the  slightest  anxiety 
was  evident.  At  times  he  seized  the  match  from  the  gun- 
ner and  touched  the  priming  ;  at  times  he  covered  his  eyes 
with  his  hand  and  observed  the  effect  of  the  shot ;  at  times 
he  turned  with  a  smile  to  the  Polish  officers  and  said,  — 

"  They  will  not  enter." 

Never  was  rage  of  attack  repulsed  with  such  fury  of 
defence.  Officers  and  soldiers  vied  with  one  another.  It 
seemed  that  the  attention  of  those  men  was  turned  to  every- 
thing save  death;  and  death  cut  down  thickly.  Pan 
Humyetski  fell,  and  Pan  Mokoshytski,  commander  of  the 
men  of  Kieff.  At  last  the  white-haired  Pan  Kalushovski 
seized  his  own  breast  with  a  groan ;  he  was  an  old  friend  of 
Pan  .Michael,  as  mild  as  a  lamb,  but  a  soldier  as  terrible 
as  a  lion.  Pan  Michael  caught  the  falling  man,  who  said, 
"  Give  your  hand,  give  your  hand  quickly ! "  then  he 
added,  "  Praise  be  to  God ! "  and  his  face  grew  as 
white  as  his  beard.  That  was  before  the  fourth  attack. 
A  party  of  janissaries  had  come  inside  the  breach,  or 
rather  they  could  not  go  out  by  reason  of  the  too 
thickly  flying  missiles.  Pan  Michael  sprang  on  them  at 
the  head  of  his  infantry,  and  they  were  beaten  down  in  a 
moment  with  the  butts  of  muskets. 

Hour  followed  hour ;  the  fire  did  not  weaken.  But  mean- 
while news  of  the  heroic  defence  was  borne  through  the 
town,  exciting  enthusiasm  and  warlike  desire.  The  Polish 
inhabitants,  especially  the  young  men,  began  to  call  on  one 
another,  to  look  at  one  another,  and  give  mutual  encourage- 
ment. "  Let  us  go  to  the  castle  with  assistance  !  Let  us 
go ;  let  us  go  !  We  will  hot  let  our  brothers  perish !  Come, 
boys  !  "  Such  voices  were  heard  on  the  square  and  at  the 
gates ;  soon  a  few  hundred  men,  armed  in  any  fashion,  but 


PAN   MICHAEL  491 

with  daring  in  their  hearts,  moved  toward  the  bridge.  The 
Turks  turned  on  the  young  men  a  terrible  fire,  which 
stretched  many  dead ;  but  a  part  passed,  and  they  began  to 
work  on  the  wall  against  the  Turks  with  great  zeal. 

This  fourth  attack  was  repulsed  with  fearful  loss  to  the 
Turks,  and  it  seemed  that  a  moment  of  rest  must  come. 
Vain  hope  !  The  rattle  of  janissary  musketry  did  not  cease 
till  evening.  Only  when  the  evening  kindya  was  played, 
did  the  cannon  grow  silent,  and  the  Turks  leave  the  ruins  of 
the  new  castle.  The  remaining  officers  went  then  from  the 
wall  to  the  other  side.  The  little  knight,  without  losing  a 
moment,  gave  command  to  close  up  the  breach  with  whatever 
materials  they  could  find,  —  hence  with  blocks  of  timber, 
with  fascines,  with  rubbish,  with  earth.  Infantry,  cavalry, 
dragoons,  common  soldiers,  and  officers- vied  with  one  another, 
regardless  of  rank.  It  was  thought  that  Turkish  guns 
might  renew  fire  at  any  moment;  but  that  was  a  day  of 
great  victory  for  the  besieged  over  the  besiegers.  The 
faces  of  all  the  besieged  were  bright ;  their  souls  were 
flaming  with  hope  and  desire  of  further  victories. 

Ketling  and  Pan  Michael,  taking  each  other  by  the  hands 
after  their  labor,  went  around  the  square  and  the  walls, 
bent  out  through  the  battlements,  to  look  at  the  courtyard 
of  the  new  castle  and  rejoice  at  the  bountiful  harvest. 

"  Body  lies  there  near  body,"  said  the  little  knight,  point- 
ing to  the  ruins ;  "  and  at  the  breach  there  are  such  piles 
that  you  would  need  a  ladder  to  cross  them.  That  is  the 
work  of  your  cannon,  Ketling." 

"The  best  thing,"  answered  Ketling,  "is  that  we  have 
repaired  that  breach ;  the  approach  is  closed  to  the  Turks, 
and  they  must  make  a  new  mine.  Their  power  is  boundless 
as  the  sea,  but  such  a  siege  for  a  month  or  two  must  become 
bitter  to  them." 

"By  that  time  the  hetrnan  will  help  us.  But  come  what 
may,  you  and  I  are  bound  by  oath,"  said  the  little  knight. 

At  that  moment  they  looked  into  each  other's  eyes,  and 
Pan  Michael  asked  in  a  lower  voice,  "  And  have  you  done 
what  I  told  you  ?  " 

"All  is  ready,"  whispered  Ketling,  in  answer;  "but  I 
think  it  will  not  come  to  that,  for  we  may  hold  out  very 
long  here,  and  have  many  such  days  as  the  present." 

"  God  grant  us  such  a  morrow  !  " 

"Amen!  "  answered  Ketling,  raising  his  eyes  to  heaven. 

The  thunder  of  cannon  interrupted  further  conversation. 


492  PAN  MICHAEL. 

Bombs  began  to  fly  against  the  castle  again.  Many  of  them 
burst  in  the  air,  however,  and  went  out  like  summer 
lightning. 

Ketling  looked  with  the  eye  of  a  judge.  "At  that 
trench  over  there  from  which  they  are  firing,"  said  he,  "  the 
matches  have  too  much  sulphur." 

"  It  is  beginning  to  smoke  on  other  trenches,"  said 
Volodyovski. 

And,  in  fact,  it  was.  As,  when  one  dog  barks  in  the  mid- 
dle of  a  still  night,  others  begin  to  accompany,  and  at  last 
the  whole  village  is  filled  with  barking,  so  one  cannon  in 
the  Turkish  trenches  roused  all  the  neighboring  guns,  and 
a  crown  of  bombs  encircled  the  besieged  place.  This  time, 
however,  the  enemy  fired  at  the  town,  not  the  castle ;  but 
from  three  sides  was  heard  the  piercing  of  mines.  Though 
the  mighty  rock  had  almost  baffled  the  efforts  of  miners,  it 
was  clear  that  the  Turks  had  determined  at  all  cost  to  blow 
that  rocky  nest  into  the  air. 

At  the  command  of  Ketling  and  Pan  Michael,  the 
defenders  began  to  hurl  hand-grenades  again,  guided  by  the 
noise  of  the  hammers.  But  at  night  it  was  impossible  to 
know  whether  that  means  of  defence  caused  any  damage. 
Besides,  all  turned  their  eyes  and  attention  to  the  town, 
against  which  were  flying  whole  flocks  of  flaming  birds. 
Some  missiles  burst  in  the  air ;  but  others,  describing  a  fiery 
circle  in  the  sky,  fell  on  the  roofs  of  houses.  At  once  a 
reddish  conflagration  broke  the  darkness  in  a  number  of 
places.  The  Church  of  St.  Catherine  was  burning,  also  the 
Church  of  St.  George  in  the  Russian  quarter,  and  soon  the 
Armenian  Cathedral  was  burning ;  this,  however,  had  been 
set  on  fire  during  the  day ;  it  was  merely  ignited  again  by 
the  bombs.  The  fire  increased  every  moment  and  lighted 
up  all  the  neighborhood.  The  outcry  from  the  town  reached 
the  old  castle.  One  might  suppose  that  the  whole  town 
was  burning. 

"  That  is  bad,"  said  Ketling,  "  for  courage  will  fail  in  the 
inhabitants." 

"  Let  everything  burn,"  said  the  little  knight ;  "  if  only 
the  rock  is  not  crushed  from  which  we  may  defend 
ourselves." 

Now  the  outcry  increased.  From  the  cathedral  the  fire 
spread  to  the  Armenian  storehouses  of  costly  merchandise. 
These  were  built  on  the  square  belonging  to  that  nationality  ; 
great  wealth  was  burning  there  in  gold,  silver,  divans,  furs, 


PAN  MICHAEL.  493 

and  rich  stuffs.  After  a  while,  tongues  of  fire  appeared 
here  and  there  over  the  houses. 

Pan  Michael  was  disturbed  greatly.  "  Ketling,"  said  he, 
"look  to  the  hurling  of  grenades,  and  injure  work  in  the 
mines  as  much  as  possible.  I  will  hurry  to  the  town,  for 
my  heart  is  suffering  for  the  Dominican  nuns.  Praise  be  to 
God  that  the  Turks  leave  the  castle  in  quiet,  and  that  I  can 
be  absent !  " 

In  the  castle  there  was  not,  in  truth,  at  that  moment 
much  to  do ;  hence  the  little  knight  sat  on  his  horse  and 
rode  away.  He  returned  only  after  two  hours  in  company 
with  Pan  Mushalski,  who  after  that  injury  sustained  at  the 
hands  of  Hamdi  Bey,  recovered,  and  came  now  to  the  fortress, 
thinking  that  during  storms  he  might  cause  notable  loss  to 
the  Pagans,  and  gain  glory  immeasurable. 

"  Be  welcome  ! "  said  Ketling.  "  I  was  alarmed.  How  is 
it  with  the  nuns  ?  " 

"All  is  well,"  answered  the  little  knight.  "Not  one 
bomb  has  burst  there.  The  place  is  very  quiet  and  safe." 

"  Thank  God  for  that !     But  Krysia  is  not  alarmed  ?  " 

"  She  is  as  quiet  as  if  at  home.  She  and  Basia  are  in 
one  cell,  and  Pan  Zagloba  is  with  them.  Pan  Adam,  to 
whom  consciousness  has  returned,  is  here  too.  He  begged  to 
come  with  me  to  the  castle;  but  he  is  not  able  to  stand  long 
on  his  feet  yet.  Ketling,  go  there  now,  and  I  will  take 
your  place  here." 

Ketling  embraced  Pan  Michael,  for  his  heart  drew  him 
greatly  to  Krysia,  and  gave  command  to  bring  his  horse 
at  once.  But  before  they  brought  the  horse,  he  in- 
quired of  the  little  knight  what  was  to  be  heard  in  the 
town. 

"  The  inhabitants  are  quenching  the  fire  very  bravely," 
answered  the  little,  knight;  "but  when  the  wealthier  Arme- 
nian merchants  saw  their  goods  burning,  they  sent  deputa- 
tions to  the  bishop  and  insisted  on  surrender.  Hearing  of 
this,  I  went  to  the  council,  though  I  had  promised  myself 
not  to  go  there  again.  I  struck  in  the  face  the  man  who 
insisted  most  on  surrender:  for  this  the  bishop  rose  in  anger 
against  me.  The  situation  is  bad,  brother;  cowardice  is 
seizing  people  more  and  more,  and  our  readiness  for  defence 
is  for  them  cheaper  and  cheaper.  They  give  blame  and 
not  praise,  for  they  say  that  we  are  exposing  the  place  in 
vain.  I  heard  too  that  they  attacked  Makovetski  because 
he  opposed  negotiations.  The  bishop  himself  said  to  him, 


494  PAN  MICHAEL. 

'  We  are  not  deserting  faith  or  king ;  but  what  can  further 
resistance  effect  ?  See/  said  he,  '  what  will  be  after  it,  — 
desecrated  shrines,  honorable  ladies  insulted,  and  innocent 
children  dragged  captive.  With  a  treaty,'  said  he,  '  we 
can  assure  their  fate  and  obtain  free  escape.'  So  spoke 
the  bishop.  The  starosta  nodded  and  said,  '  I  -would  rather 
perish,  but  this  is  true.'  " 

"  The  will  of  God  be  done  !  "  said  Ketling. 

But  Pan  Michael  wrung  his  hands.  "  And  if  that  were 
even  true,"  cried  he,  "  but  God  is  witness  that  we  can  defend 
ourselves  yet." 

Now  they  brought  Ketling's  horse.     He  mounted  quickly. 

"Carefully  through  the  bridge,"  said  Pan  Michael  at 
parting,  "for  the  bombs  fall  there  thickly." 

"  I  will  return  in  an  hour,"  said  Ketling ;  and  he  rode 
away. 

Pan  Michael  started  to  go  around  the  walls  Avith  Mushal- 
ski.  In  three  places  hammering  was  heard;  hence  the 
besieged  were  throwing  hand-grenades  from  three  places. 
On  the  left  side  of  the  castle  Lusnia  was  directing  that 
work. 

"  Well,  how  is  it  going  with  you  ?"  inquired  Volodyovski. 

"Badly,  Pan  Commandant,"  said  the  sergeant:  "the 
pig-bloods  are  sitting  in  the  cliff,  and  only  sometimes  at  the 
entrance  does  a  piece  of  shell  hurt  a  man.  We.  have  n't 
done  much." 

In  other  places  the  case  was  still  worse,  especially  as  the 
sky  had  grown  gloomy  and  rain  was  falling,  from  which 
the  wicks  in  the  grenades  were  growing  damp.  Darkness 
too  hindered  the  work. 

Pan  Michael  drew  Mushalski  aside  somewhat,  and  halting, 
said  on  a  sudden,  "  But  listen !  If  we  should  try  to 
smother  those  moles  in  their  burrows  ?  " 

"That  seems  to  me  certain  death,  for  whole  regiments 
of  janissaries  are  guarding  them.  But  let  us  try  ! " 

"  Regiments  are  guarding  them,  it  is  true ;  but  the  night 
is  .very  dark,  and  confusion  seizes  them  quickly.  Just 
think,  they  are  talking  of  surrender  in  the  town.  Why  ? 
Because,  they  say  to  us,  '  There  are  mines  under  you ;  you 
are  not  defending  yourselves.'  We  should  close  .their  lips 
if  to-night  we  could  send  the  news,  '  There  is  no  longer 
a  mine  ! '  For  such  a  cause  is  it  worth  while  to  lay  down 
one's  head  or  not  ?  " 

Pan  Mushalski  thought  a  moment,  and  cried,  "  It  is 
worth  while!  As  God  lives,  it  is!" 


PAN  MICHAEL.  495 

''In  one  place  they  began  to  hammer  not  long  ago," 
said  Pan  Michael ;  "  we  will  leave  those  undisturbed, 
but  here  and  on  that  side  they  have  dug  in  very  deeply. 
Take  fifty  dragoons;  I  will  take  the  same  number;  and 
we  will  try  to  smother  them.  Have  you  the  wish  ?  " 

"  I  have,  and  it  is  increasing.  I  will  take  spikes  in  my 
belt  to  spike  cannon  ;  perhaps  on  the  road  I  may  find  some." 

"  As  to  finding,  I  doubt  that,  though  there  are  some 
falconets  standing  near;  but  take  the  spikes.  We  will 
only  wait  for  Ketling ;  he  knows  better  than  others  how  to 
succor  in  a  sudden  emergency." 

Ketling  came  as  he  had  promised  ;  he  was  not  behind 
time  one  moment.  Half  an  hour  later  two  detachments  of 
dragoons,  of  fifty  men  each,  went  to  the  breach,  slipped  out 
quickly,  and  vanished  in  the  darkness.  Ketling  gave  com- 
mand to  throw  grenades  for  a  short  time  yet ;  then  he  ceased 
work  and  waited.  His  heart  was  beating  unquietly,  for  he 
understood  well  how  desperate  the  undertaking  was.  A 
quarter  of  an  hour  passed,  half  an  hour,  an  hour  :  it  seemed 
that  they  ought  to  be  there  already  and  to  begin ;  meanwhile, 
putting  his  ear  to  the  ground,  he  heard  the  quiet  hammering 
perfectly. 

Suddenly  at  the  foot  of  the  castle,  on  the  left  side,  there 
was  a  pistol-shot,  which  in  the  damp  air,  in  view  of  the 
firing  from  the  trenches,  did  not  make  a  loud  report,  and 
might  have  passed  without  rousing  the  attention  of  the 
garrison  had  not  a  terrible  uproar  succeeded  it.  "They 
are  there,"  thought  Ketling ;  "  but  will  they  return  ? " 
And  then  sounded  the  shouts  of  men,  the  roar  of  drums, 
the  whistle  of  pipes,  —  finally  the  rattle  of  musketry,  hurried 
and  very  irregular.  The  Turks  fired  from  all  sides  and  in 
throngs  ;  evidently  whole  divisions  had  run  up  to  succor 
the  miners.  As  Pan  Michael  had  foreseen,  confusion  seized 
the  janissaries,  who,  fearing  to  strike  one  another,  shouted 
loudly,  fired  at  random,  and  often  in  the  air.  The  uproar 
and  firing  increased  every  moment.  When  martens,  eager 
for  blood,  break  into  a  sleeping  hen-house  at  night,  a 
mighty  uproar  and  cackling  rise  in  the  quiet  building: 
confusion  like  that  set  in  all  at  once  round  the  castle. 
The  Turks  began  to  hurl  bombs  at  the  walls,  so  as  to  clear 
up  the  darkness.  Ketliug  pointed  guns  in  the  direction 
of  the  Turkish  troops  on  guard,  and  answered  with  grape- 
shot.  The  Turkish  approaches  blazed;  the  walls  blazed. 
In  the  town  the  alarm  was  beaten,  for  the  people  believed 


496  PAN  MICHAEL. 

universally  that  the  Turks  had  burst  into  the  fortress.  In  the 
trenches  the  Turks  thought  that  a  powerful  sortie  was 
attacking  all  their  works  simultaneously ;  and  a  general 
alarm  spread  among  them.  Night  favored  the  desperate 
enterprise  of  Pan  Michael  and  Mushalski,  for  it  had  grown 
very  dark.  Discharges  of  cannon  and  grenades  rent  only 
for  instants  the  darkness,  which  was  afterward  blacker, 
Finally,  the  sluices  of  heaven  opened  suddenly,  and  down 
rushed  torrents  of  rain.  Thunder  outsounded  the  firing, 
rolled,  grumbled,  howled,  and  roused  terrible  echoes  in 
the  -cliffs.  Ketling  sprang  from  the  wall,  ran  at  the 
head  of  fifteen  or  twenty  men  to  the  breach,  and  waited. 
But  he  did  not  wait  long.  Soon  dark  figures  swarmed 
in  between  the  timbers  with  which  the  opening  was  barred. 

"  Who  goes  there  ?  "  cried  Ketling. 

"  Volodyovski,"  was  the  answer.  And  the  two  knights 
fell  into  each  other's  embrace. 

"  What !  How  is  it  there  ?  "  asked  the  officers,  rushing 
out  to  the  breach. 

"  Praise  be  to  God !  the  miners  are  cut  down  to  the  last 
man  ;  their  tools  are  broken  and  scattered.  Their  work  is 
for  nothing." 

"  Praise  be  to  God  !     Praise  be  to  God  !  " 

"  But  is  Mushalski  with  his  men  ?  " 

"  He  is  not  here  yet." 

"  We  might  go  to  help  him.  Gracious  gentlemen,  who 
is  willing  ?  " 

But  that  moment  the  breach  was  filled  again.  Mushal- 
ski's  men  were  returning  in  haste,  and  decreased  in 
number  considerably,  for  many  of  them  had  fallen  from 
bullets.  But  they  returned  joyously,  for  with  an  equally 
favorable  result.  Some  of  the  soldiers  had  brought  back 
hammers,  drills,  and  pickaxes  as  a  proof  that  they  had  been 
in  the  mine  itself. 

"  But  where  is  Mushalski  ?  "  asked  Pan  Michael. 

"  True ;  where  is  Pan  Mushalski  ?  "  repeated  a  number  of 
voices. 

The  men  under  command  of  the  celebrated  bowman 
stared  at  one  another ;  then  a  dragoon,  who  was  wounded 
severely,  said,  with  a  weak  voice,  — 

"  Pan  Mushalski  has  fallen.  I  saw  him  when  he  fell. 
I  fell  at  his  side  j  but  I  rose,  and  he  remained." 

The  knights  were  grieved  greatly  on  hearing  of  the  bow- 
man's death,  for  he  was  one  of  the  first  cavaliers  in  the 


PAN  MICHAEL.  497 

armies  of  the  Commonwealth.  They  asked  the  dragoon 
again  ho\v  it  had  happened ;  but  he  was  unable  to  answer, 
for  blood  was  flowing  from  him  in  a  stream,  and  he  fell 
to  the  ground  like  a  grain-sheaf. 

The  knights  began  to  lament  for  Pan  Mushalski. 

"  His  memory  will  remain  in  the  army/'  said  Pan  Kvasi- 
brotski,  "  and  whoever  survives  the  siege  will  celebrate  his 
name." 

"  There  will  not  be  born  another  such  bowman,"  said  a 
voice. 

"  He  was  stronger  in  the  arm  than  any  man  in  Hreptyoff," 
said  the  little  knight.  "  He  couhl  push  a  thaler  with  his 
fingers  into  a  new  board.  Pan  Podbipienta,  a  Lithuanian, 
alone  surpassed  him  in  strength ;  but  Podbipienta  was  killed 
in  Zbaraj,  and  of  living  men  none  was  so  strong  in  the 
hands,  unless  perhaps  Pan  Adam." 

"  A  great,  great  loss,"  said  others.  "  Only  in  old  times 
were  such  cavaliers  born." 

Thus  honoring  the  memory  of  the  bowman,  they  mounted 
the  wall.  Pan  Michael  sent  a  courier  at  once  with  news  to 
the  starosta  and  the  bishop  that  the  mines  were  destroyed, 
and  the  miners  cut  down  by  a  sortie.  This  news  was 
received  with  great  astonishment  in  the  town,  but  —  who 
could  expect  it  ?  —  with  secret  dislike.  The  starosta  and 
the  bishop  were  of  opinion  that  those  passing  triumphs 
would  not  save  Kamenyets,  but  only  rouse  the  savage  lion 
still  more.  They  could  be  useful  only  in  case  surrender 
were  agreed  on  in  spite  of  them ;  therefore  the  two  leaders 
determined  to  continue  further  negotiations. 

But  neither  Pan  Michael  nor  Ketling  admitted  even  for 
a  moment  that  the  happy  news  could  have  such  an  effect. 
Nay,  they  felt  certain  now  that  courage  would  enter  the 
weakest  hearts,  and  that  all  would  be  inflamed  with  desire 
for  a  passionate  resistance.  It  was  impossible  to  take  the 
town  without  taking  the  castle  first ;  therefore  if  the  castle 
not  merely  resisted,  but  conquered,  the  besieged  had  not 
the  least  need  to  negotiate.  There  was  plenty  of  pro- 
visions, also  of  powder  ;  in  view  of  this  it  was  only  needful 
to  watch  the  gates  and  quench  fires  in  the  town. 

During  the  whole  siege  this  was  the  night  of  most  joy 
for  Pan  Michael  and  Ketling.  Never  had  they  had  such 
great  hope  that  they  would  come  out  alive  from  those 
Turkish  toils,  and  also  bring  out  those  dearest  heads  in 
safety. 


498  PAN  MICHAEL. 

"  A  couple  of  storms  more,"  said  the  little  knight,  "  and 
as  God  is  in  heaven  the  Turks  will  be  sick  of  them,  and 
will  prefer  to  force  us  with  famine.  And  we  have  supplies 
enough  here.  September  is  at  hand  ;  in  two  months  rains 
and  cold  will  begin.  Those  troops  are  not  over-enduring; 
let  them  get  well  chilled  once,  and  they  will  withdraw." 

"Many  of  them  are  from  Ethiopian  countries,"  said 
Ketling,  "or  from  various  places  where  pepper  grows;  and 
any  frost  will  nip  them.  We  can  hold  out  two  months  in 
the  worst  case,  even  with  storms.  It  is  impossible  too 
to  suppose  that  no  succor  will  come  to  us.  The  Common- 
wealth will  return  to  its  senses  at  last ;  and  even  if  the 
hetman  should  not  collect  a  great  force,  he  will  annoy  the 
Turk  with  attacks." 

"  Ketling !  as  it  seems  to  me,  our  hour  has  not  struck 
yet." 

"  It  is  in  the  power  of  God,  but  it  seems  to  me  also  that 
it  will  not  come  to  that." 

"  Even  if  some  one  has  fallen,  such  as  Pan  Mushalski. 
Well,  there  is  no  help  for  it !  I  am  terribly  sorry  for 
Mushalski,  though  he  died  a  hero's  death." 

"  May  God  grant  us  no  worse  one,  if  only  not  soon !  for 
I  confess  to  you,  Michael,  I  should  be  sorry  for  —  Krysia." 

"  Yes,  and  I  too  for  Basia ;.  we  will  work  earnestly,  and 
maybe  there  is  mercy  above  us.  I  arn  very  glad  in  soul 
for  some  reason.  We  must  do  a  notable  deed  to-morrow 
as  well." 

"The  Turks  have  made  protections  of  plank.  I  have 
thought  of  a  method  used  in  burning  ships ;  the  rags  are 
now  steeping  in  tar,  so  that  to-morrow  before  noon  we  will 
burn  all  those  works." 

"  Ah !  "  said  the  little  knight,  "  then  I  will  lead  a  sortie. 
During  the  fire  there  will  be  confusion  in  every  case,  and  it 
will  not  enter  their  heads  that  there  can  be  a  sortie  in  day- 
light. To-morrow  may  be  better  than  to-day,  Ketling." 

Thus  did  they  converse  with  swelling  hearts,  and  then 
went  to  rest,  for  they  were  greatly  wearied.  But  the  little 
knight  had  not  slept  three  hours  when  Lusnia  roused  him. 

"  Pan  Commandant,"  said  the  sergeant,  "  we  have  news." 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  cried  the  watchful  soldier,  springing  up 
in  one  moment. 

"  Pan  Mushalski  is  here." 

"  For  God's  sake  !  what  do  you  tell  me  ?  " 

"  He  is  here.     I  was  standing  at  the  breach,  and  heard 


PAN  MICHAEL.  499 

some  one  calling  from  the  other  side  in  Polish, '  Do  not  fire ; 
it  is  I.'  I  looked ;  there  was  Pan  Mushalski  coming  back 
dressed  as  a  janissary." 

"  Praise  be  to  God  !  "  said  the  little  knight ;  and  he  sprang 
up  to  greet  the  bowman. 

It  was  dawning  already.  Pan  Mushalski  was  standing 
outside  the  wall  in  a  white  cap  and  armor,  so  much  like  a 
real  janissary  that  one's  eyes  were  slow  in  belief.  Seeing 
the  little  knight,  he  hurried  to  him,  and  began  to  greet  him 
joyously. 

"  We  have  mourned  over  you  already ! "  cried  Volodyovski. 

With  that  a  number  of  other  officers  ran  up,  among  them 
Ketling.  All  were  amazed  beyond  description,  and  inter- 
rupted one  another  asking  how  he  came  to  be  in  Turkish 
disguise. 

"  I  stumbled,"  said  he,  "  over  the  body  of  a  janissary 
when  I  was  returning,  and  struck  my  head  against  a 
cannon-ball;  though  I  had  a  cap  bound  with  wire,  I  lost 
consciousness  at  once.  My  head  was  tender  after  that  blow 
which  I  got  from  Hamdi  Bey.  When  I  came  to  myself  I 
was  lying  on  a  dead  janissary,  as  on  a  bed.  I  felt  my  head ; 
it  was  a  trifle  sore,  but  there  was  not  even  a  lump  on  it.  I 
took  off  my  cap ;  the  rain  cooled  my  head,  and  I  thought : 
'  This  is  well  for  us.  It  would  be  a  good  plan  to  take  that 
janissary's  uniform,  and  stroll  among  the  Turks.  I  speak 
their  tongue  as  well  as  Polish,  and  no  one  could  discover 
me  by  my  speech ;  my  face  is  not  different  from  that  of  a 
janissary.  I  will  go  and  listen  to  their  talk.'  Fear  seized 
me  at  times,  for  I  remembered  my  former  captivity ;  but  I 
went.  The  night  was  dark ;  there  was  barely  a  light  here 
and  there.  I  tell  you,  gentlemen,  I  went  among  them  as  if 
they  had  been  my  own  people.  Many  of  them  were  lying 
in  trenches  under  cover ;  I  went  to  them.  This  and  that 
one  asked,  '  Why  are  you  strolling  about  ? '  '  Because  I 
cannot  sleep,'  answered  I.  Others  were  talking  in  crowds 
about  the  siege.  There  is  great  consternation.  I  heard 
with  my  own  ears  how  they  complained  of  our  Hreptyoff 
commandant  here  present,"  at  this  Pan  Mushalski  bowed 
to  Volodyovski.  "I  repeat  their  ipsissima  verba"  (very 
words),  "  because  an  enemy's  blame  is  the  highest  praise. 
'  While  that  little  dog,'  said  they,  thus  did  the  dog  brothers 
call  your  grace,  —  '  while  that  little  dog  defends  the  castle, 
we  shall  not  capture  it.'  Others  said, '  Bullets  and  iron  do  not 
harm  him  ;  but  death  blows  from  him  as  from  a  pestilence.' 


500  PAN  MICHAEL. 

Then  all  in  the  crowd  began  to  complain :  ( We  alone  fight/ 
said  they,  '  and  other  troops  are  doing  nothing  ;  the  volun- 
teers are  lying  with  their  bellies  to  the  sky.  The  Tartars 
are  plundering ;  the  spahis  are  strolling  about  the  bazaars. 
The  Padishah  says  to  us,  "  My  dear  lambs  ;  "  but  it  is  clear 
that  we  are  not  over-dear  to  him,  since  he  sends  us  here  to 
the  shambles.  We  will  hold  out,'  said  they,  '  but  not  long  ; 
then  we  will  go  back  to  Hotin,  and  if  they  do  not  let  us 
go,  some  lofty  heads  may  fall.'  ': 

"  Do  you  hear,  gracious  gentlemen  ?  "  cried  Volodyovski. 
"  When  the  janissaries  mutiny,  the  Sultan  will  be  fright- 
ened, and  raise  the  siege." 

"  As  God  is  dear  to  me,  I  tell  the  pure  truth,"  said 
Mushalski.  "Rebellion  is  easy  among  the  janissaries,  and 
they  are  very  much  dissatisfied.  I  think  that  they  will  try 
one  or  two  storms  more,  and  then  will  gnash  their  teeth  at 
their  aga,  the  kaimakan,  or  even  the  Sultan  himself." 

"  So  it  will  be,"  cried  the  officers. 

"Let  them  try  twelve  storms;  we  are  ready /'said  others. 

They  rattled  their  sabres  and  looked  with  bloodshot  eyes 
at  the  trenches,  while  drawing  deep  breaths ;  hearing  this, 
the  little  knight  whispered  with  enthusiasm  to  Ketling, 
"  A  new  Zbaraj !  a  new  Zbaraj !  " 

But  Pan  Mushalski  began  again  :  "  I  have  told  you  what 
I  heard.  I  was  sorry  to  leave  them,  for  I  might  have  heard 
more ;  but  I  was  afraid  that  daylight  might  catch  me.  I 
went  then  to  those  trenches  from  which  they  were  not  firing ; 
I  did  this  so  as  to  slip  by  in  the  dark.  I  look ;  I  see  no 
regular  sentries,  only  groups  of  janissaries  strolling,  as  every- 
where. I  go  to  a  frowning  gun  ;  no  one  says  anything.  You 
know  that  I  took  spikes  for  the  cannon.  I  push  a  spike 
into  the  priming  quickly ;  it  won't  go  in,  —  it  needs  a  blow 
from  a  hammer.  But  since  the  Lord  God  gave  some  strength 
to  my  hand  (you  have  seen  my  experiments  more  than  once), 
I  pressed  the  spike ;  it  squeaked  a  little,  but  went  in  to  the 
head.  I  was  terribly  glad." 

"  As  God  lives  !  did  you  do  that  ?  Did  you  spike  the  great 
cannon  ?  "  asked  men  on  every  side. 

"  I  spiked  that  and  another,  for  the  work  went  so  easily 
that  I  was  sorry  to  leave  it ;  and  I  went  to  another  gun.  My 
hand  is  a  little  sore,  but  the  spike  went  in." 

"  Gracious  gentlemen,"  cried  Pan  Michael,  "  no  one  here 
has  done  greater  things ;  no  one  has  covered  himself  with 
such  glory.  Vivat  Pan  Mushalski ! " 


PAN  MICHAEL  501 

"  Vivat !  vivat !  "  repeated  the  officers. 

After  the  officers  the  soldiers  began  to  shout.  The  Turks 
in  their  trenches  heard  those  shouts,  and  were  alarmed ; 
their  courage  fell  the  more.  But  the  bowman,  full  of  joy, 
bowed  to  the  officers,  and  showed  his  mighty  palm,  which 
was  like  a  shovel ;  on  it  were  two  blue  spots.  "  True,  as 
God  lives  !  you  have  the  witness  here,"  said  he. 

"  We  believe  !  "  cried  all.  "  Praise  be  to  God  that  you 
came  back  in  safety  !  " 

"  I  passed  through  the  planking,"  continued  the  bowman. 
"  I  wanted  to  burn  that  work ;  but  I  had  nothing  to  do  it 
with." 

"Do  you  know,  Michael,"  cried  Ketling,  "my  rags  are 
ready.  I  am  beginning  to  think  of  that  planking.  Let 
them  know  that  we  attack  first." 

"  Begin  !  begin  !  "  cried  Pan  Michael. 

He  rushed  himself  to  the  arsenal,  and  sent  fresh  news  to 
the  town  :  "  Pan  Mushalski  was  not  killed  in  the  sortie,  for 
he  has  returned,  after  spiking  two  heavy  guns.  He  was 
among  the  janissaries,  who  think  of  rebelling.  In  an  hour 
we  shall  burn  their  woodworks ;  and  if  it  be  possible  to  make 
at  the  same  time  a  sortie,  I  will  make  it." 

The  messenger  had  not  crossed  the  bridge  when  the 
walls  were  trembling  from  the  roar  of  cannon.  This  time 
the  castle  began  the  thundering  dialogue.  In  the  pale  light 
of  the  morning  the  flaming  rags  flew  like  blazing  banners, 
and  fell  on  the  woodwork.  The  moisture  with  which  the 
night  rain  had  covered  the  wood  helped  nothing.  Soon 
the  timbers  caught  fire,  and  were  burning.  After  the  rags 
Ketling  hurled  bombs.  The  wearied  crowds  of  janissaries 
left  the  trenches  in  the  first  moments.  They  did  not  play 
the  kindya.  The  vizir  himself  appeared  at  the  head  <4' 
new  legions ;  but  evidently  doubt  had  crept  even  into  his 
heart,  for  the  pashas  heard  how  he  muttered,  — 

"  Battle  is  sweeter  to  those  men  than  sleep.  What  kind 
of  people  live  in  that  castle  ?  " 

In  the  army  were  heard  on  all  sides  alarmed  voices 
repeating,  "  The  little  dog  is  beginning  to  bite  !  The  little 
dog  is  beginning  to  bite  1 " 


502  PAN  MICHAEL. 


CHAPTER  LVII. 

THAT  happy  night,  full  of  omens  of  victory,  was  followed 
by  August  26,  —  the  day  most  important  in  the  history  of 
that  war.  In  the  castle  they  expected  some  great  effort  on 
the  part  of  the  Turks.  In  fact,  about  sunrise  there  was  heard 
such  a  loud  and  mighty  hammering  along  the  left  side  of 
the  castle  as  never  before.  Evidently  the  Turks  were 
hurrying  with  a  new  mine,  the  largest  of  all.  Strong 
detachments  of  troops  were  guarding  that  work  from  a 
distance.  Swarms  began  to  move  in  the  trenches.  From 
the  multitude  of  colored  banners  with  which  the  field  on  the 
side  of  Dlujek  had  bloomed  as  with  flowers,  it  was  known 
that  the  vizir  was  coining  to  direct  the  storm  in  person. 
New  cannon  were  brought  to  the  intrenchments  by  janis- 
saries, countless  throngs  of  whom  covered  the  new  castle, 
taking  refuge  in  its  fosses  and  ruins,  so  as  to  be  in  readi- 
ness for  a  hand-to-hand  struggle. 

As  has  been  said,  the  castle  was  the  first  to  begin  the 
converse  with  cannon,  and  so  effectually  that  a  momentary 
panic  rose  in  the  trenches.  But  the  bimbashes  rallied  the 
janissaries  in  the  twinkle  of  an  eye,;  at  the  same  time  all 
the  Turkish  cannon  raised  their  voices.  Bombs,  balls,  and 
grapeshot  were  flying ;  at  the  heads  of  the  besieged  flew 
rubbish,  bricks,  plaster;  smoke  was  mingled  with  dust,  the 
heat  of  fire  with  the  heat  of  the  sun.  Breath  was  failing 
in  men's  breasts  ;  sight  left  their  eyes.  The  roar  of  guns, 
l^ie  bursting  of  bombs,  the  biting  of  cannon-balls  on  the 
rocks,  the  uproar  of  the  Turks,  the  cries  of  the  defenders^ 
formed  one  terrible  concert  which  was  accompanied  by  the 
echoes  of  the  cliffs.  The  castle  was  covered  with  missiles ; 
the  town,  the  gates,  all  the  bastions,  were  covered.  But  the 
castle  defended  itself  with  rage  ;  it  answered  thunders  with 
thunders,  shook,  flashed,  smoked,  roared,  vomited  fire,  death, 
and  destruction,  as  if  Jove's  anger  had  borne  it  away,  —  as 
if  it  had  forgotten  itself  amid  flames ;  as  if  it  wished  to 
drown  the  Turkish  thunders  and  sink  in  the  earth,  or  else 
triumph. 

In  the  castle,  among  flying  balls,  fire,  dust,  and  smoke,  the 
little  knight  rushed  from  cannon  to  cannon,  from  one  wall 


PAN  MICHAKI.. 

to  another,  from  corner  to  corner  ;  he  was  like  a  destroying 
flame.  He  seemed  to  double  and  treble  himself:  he  wits 
everywhere.  He  encouraged  ;  he  shouted.  When  a  gunner 
fell  he  took  his  place,  and  rousing  confidence  in  men,  ran 
again  to  some  other  spot.  His  fire  was  communicated  to 
the  soldiers.  They  believed  that  this  was  the  last  stoi-m, 
after  which  would  come  peace  and  glory  ;  faith  in  victory 
filled  their  breasts.  Their  hearts  grew  firm  and  resolute; 
the  madness  of  battle  seized  their  minds.  Shouts  and  chal- 
lenges issued  every  moment  from  their  throats.  Such  rage 
seized  some  that  they  went  over  the  wall  to  close  outside 
with  the  janissaries  hand  to  hand. 

The  janissaries,  under  cover  of  smoke,  went  twice  to  the 
breach  in  dense  masses ;  and  twice  they  fell  back  in  disorder 
after  they  had  covered  the  ground  with  their  bodies.  About 
midday  the  volunteer  and  irregular  janissaries  were  sent  to 
aid  them ;  but  the  less  trained  crowds,  though  pushed  from 
behind  with  darts,  only  howled  with  dreadful  voices,  and 
did  not  wish  to  go  against  the  castle.  The  kaiuiakan  came ; 
that  did  no  good.  Every  moment  threatened  disorder,  bor- 
dering on  panic.  At  last  the  men  were  withdrawn  ;  and  the 
guns  alone  worked  unceasingly  as  before,  hurling  thunder 
after  thunder,  lightning  after  lightning. 

Whole  hours  were  spent  in  this  manner.  The  sun  had 
passed  the  zenith,  and  rayless,  red,  and  smoky,  as  if  veiled 
by  haze,  looked  at  that  struggle. 

About  three  o'  clock  in  the  afternoon  the  roar  of  guns 
gained  such  force  that  in  the  castle  the  loudest  words 
shouted  in  the  ear  were  not  audible.  The  air  in  the 
castle  became  as  hot  as  in  a  stove.  The  water  which  they 
poured  on  the  cannon  turned  into  steam,  mixing  with  the 
smoke  and  hiding  the  light ;  but  the  guns  thundered  on. 

Just  after  three  o'clock,  the  largest  Turkish  cnlverines 
were  broken.  Some  "  Our  Fathers  "  later,  the  mortar  stand- 
ing near  them  burst,  struck  by  a  long  shot.  (limners 
perished  like  flies.  Every  moment  it  became  more  evident 
that  that  irrepressible  castle  was  gaining  in  the  struggle, 
that  it  would  roar  down  the  Turkish  thunder,  and  utter  the 
last  word  of  victory. 

The  Turkish  fire  began  to  weaken  gradually. 

"The  end  will  come  !  "  shouted  Volodyovski,  with  all  his 
might,  in  Ketling's  ear.  He  wished  his  friend  to  hear  those 
words  amid  the  roar. 

••  So  I  think,"  answered  Ketling.  '•'  To  last  till  to-morrow, 
or  longer  ?  " 


504  PAN  MICHAEL. 

"Perhaps  longer.     Victory  is  with  us  to-day." 

"And  through  us.     We  must  think  of  that  new  mine." 

The  Turkish  lire  was  weakening  still  more. 

"  Keep  up  the  cannonade  !  "  cried  Volodyovski.  And  he 
sprang  among  the  gunners.  "Fire,  men!"  cried  he,  "till 
the  last  Turkish  gun  is  silent!  To  the  glory  of  God  and 
the  Most  Holy  Lady!  To  the  glory  of  the  Common- 
wealth!" 

The  soldiers,  seeing  that  the  storm  was  nearing.its  end, 
gave  forth  a  loud  shout,  and  with  the  greater  enthusiasm 
fired  at  the  Turkish  trenches. 

"  We  '11  play  an  evening  kindya  for  you,  dog  brothers," 
cried  many  voices. 

Suddenly  something  wonderful  took  place.  All  the 
Turkish  guns  ceased  at  once,  as  if  some  one  had  cut  them 
off  with  a  knife.  At  the  same  time,  the  musketry  fire  of 
the  janissaries  ceased  in  the  new  castle.  The  old  castle 
thundered  for  a  time  yet ;  but  at  last  the  officers  began  to 
look  at  one  another,  and  inquire,  — 

"  What  is  this  ?     What  has  happened  ?  " 

Ketling,  alarmed  somewhat,  ceased  firing  also. 

"  Maybe  there  is  a  mine  under  us  which  will  be  exploded 
right  away,"  said  one  of  the  officers. 

Volodyovski  pierced  the  man  with  a  threatening  glance, 
and  said,  "  The  mine  is  not  ready ;  and  even  if  it  were,  only 
the  left  side  of  the  castle  could  be  blown  up  by  it,  and  we 
will  defend  ourselves  in  the  ruins  while  there  is  breath  in 
our  nostrils.  Do  you  understand  ?  " 

Silence  followed,  unbroken  by  a  shot  from  the  trenches 
or  the  town.  After  thunders  from  which  the  walls  and  the 
earth  had  been  quivering,  there  was  something  solemn  in 
that  silence,  but  something  ominous  also.  The  eyes  of  each 
were  intent  on  the  trenches ;  but  through  the  clouds  of  smoke 
nothing  was  visible.  Suddenly  the  measured  blows  of  ham- 
mers were  heard  on  the  left  side. 

"  I  told  you  that  they  are  only  making  the  mine,"  said 
Pan  Michael.  "  Sergeant,  take  twenty  men  and  examine  for 
me  the  new  castle,"  commanded  he,  turning  to  Lusnia. 

Lusnia  obeyed  quickly,  took  twenty  men,  and  vanished  in 
a  moment  beyond  the  breach.  Silence  followed  again, 
broken  only  by  groans  here  and  there,  or  the  gasp  of  the 
dying,  and  the  pounding  of  hammers.  They  waited  rather 
long.  At  last  the  sergeant  returned. 

"  Pan  Commandant,"  said  he,  "  there  is  not  a  living  sou! 
in  the  new  castle." 


PAN   MICHAEL.  505 

Volodyovski  looked  with  astonishment  at  Ketling. 
"  Have  they  raised  the  siege  already,  or  what  ?  Nothing 
can  be  seen  through  the  smoke." 

But  the  smoke,  blown  by  the  wind,  became  thin,  and  at 
last  its  veil  was  broken  above  the  town.  At  the  same 
moment  a  voice,  shrill  and  terrible,  began  to  shout  from  the 
bastion,  — 

"  Over  the  gates  are  white  flags !  We  are  surren- 
dering ! " 

Hearing  this,  the  soldiers  and  officers  turned  toward  the 
town.  Terrible  amazement  was  reflected  on  their  faces; 
the  words  died  on  the  lips  of  all ;  and  through  the  strips  of 
smoke  they  were  gazing  toward  the  town.  But  in  the  town, 
on  the  Kussian  and  Polish  gates,  white  flags  were  really 
waving.  Farther  on,  they  saw  one  on  the  bastion  of 
Batory. 

The  face  of  the  little  knight  became  as  white  as  those 
flags  waving  in  the  wind. 

"Ketling,  do  you  see?"  whispered  he,  turning  to  his 
friend. 

Ketling's  face  was  pale  also.     "  I  see,"  replied  he. 

And  they  looked  into  each  other's  eyes  for  some  time, 
uttering  with  them  everything  which  two  soldiers  like 
them,  without  fear  or  reproach,  had  to  say,  —  soldiers  who 
never  in  life  had  broken  their  word,  and  who  had  sworn 
before  the  altar  to  die  rather  than  surrender  the  castle. 
And  now,  after  such  a  defence,  after  a  struggle  which 
recalled  the  days  of  Zbaraj,  after  a  storm  which  had  been 
repulsed,  and  after  a  victory,  they  were  commanded  to 
break  their  oath,  to  surrender  the  castle,  and  live. 

As,  not  long  before,  hostile  balls  were  flying  over  the 
castle,  so  now  hostile  thoughts  were  flying  in  a  throng 
through  their  heads.  And  sorrow  simply  measureless 
pressed  their  hearts,  —  sorrow  for-  two  loved  ones,  sorrow 
for  life  and  happiness ;  hence  they  looked  at  each  other  as  if 
demented,  as  if  dead,  and  at  times  they  turned  glances  full 
of  despair  toward  the  town,  as  if  wishing  to  be  sure  that 
their  eyes  were  not  deceiving  them,  —  to  be  sure  that  the 
last  hour  had  struck. 

At  that  time  horses'  hoofs  sounded  from  the  direction  of 
the  town ;  and  after  a  while  Horaiui,  the  attendant  of  the 
starosta,  rushed  up  to  them. 

"An  order  to  the  commandant ! "  cried  he,  reining  in  his 
horse. 


506  PAN   MICHAEL. 

Volodyovski  took  the  order,  read  it  in  silence,  and  after  a 
time,  amid  silence  as  of  the  grave,  said  to  the  officers, — 

"Gracious  gentlemen,  commissioners  have  crossed  the 
river  in  a  boat,  and  have  gone  to  Dlujek  to  sign  conditions. 
After  a  time  they  will  come  here.  Before  evening  we  must 
withdraw  the  troops  from  the  castle,  and  raise  a  white  flag 
without  delay." 

No  one  answered  a  word.  Nothing  was  heard  but  quick 
breathing. 

At  last  Kvasibrotski  said,  "We  must  raise  the  white 
flag.  I  will  muster  the  men." 

Here  and  there  the  words  of  command  were  heard.  The 
soldiers  began  to  take  their  places  in  ranks,  and  shoulder 
arms.  The  clatter  of  muskets  and  the  measured  tread 
roused  echoes  in  the  silent  castle. 

Ketling  pushed  up  to  Pan  Michael.  "  Is  it  time  ? " 
inquired  he. 

"  Wait  for  the  commissioners ;  let  us  hear  the  conditions  ! 
Besides,  I  will  go  down  myself." 

"No,  I  will  go  !  I  know  the  places  better;  I  know  the 
position  of  everything." 

"  The  commissioners  are  returning  !  The  commissioners 
are  returning ! " 

The  three  unhappy  envoys  appeared  in  the  castle  after  a 
certain  time.  They  were  Grushetski,  judge  of  Podolia,  the 
chamberlain  Revuski,  and  Pan  Myslishevski,  banneret  of 
Chernigoff.  They  came  gloomily,  with  drooping  heads  ;  on 
their  shoulders  were  gleaming  kaftans  of  gold  brocade, 
which  they  had  received  as  gifts  from  the  vizir. 

Volodyovski  was  waiting  for  them,  resting  against  a  gun 
turned  toward  Dlujek.  The  gun  was  hot  yet,  and  steaming. 
All  three  greeted  him  in  silence. 

"  What  are  the  conditions  ?  "  asked  he. 

"  The  town  will  not  be  plundered ;  life  and  property  are 
assured  to  the  inhabitants.  Whoever  does  not  choose  to 
remain  has  the  right  to  withdraw  and  betake  himself  to 
whatever  place  may  please  him." 

"  And  Kamenyets  ?  " 

The  commissioners  dropped  their  heads :  "  Goes  to  the 
Sultan  forever." 

The  commissioners  took  their  way,  not  toward  the  bridge, 
for  throngs  of  people  had  blocked  the  road,  but  toward  the 
southern  gate  at  the  side.  When  they  had  descended,  they 
sat  in  the  boat  which  v/as  to  go  to  the  Polish  gate.  In  the 


PAN  MICHAEL.  507 

low  place  lying  along  the  river  between  the  cliffs,  the  janis- 
saries began  to  appear.  Greater  and  greater  streams  of 
people  flowed  from  the  town,  and  occupied  the  place 
opposite  the  old  bridge.  Many  wished  to  run  to  the  castle ; 
but  the  outgoing  regiments  restrained  them,  at  command  of 
the  little  knight. 

When  Volodyovski  had  mustered  the  troops,  he  called 
Pan  Mushalski  and  said  to  him,  — 

"  Old  friend,  do  me  one  more  service.  Go  this  moment 
to  my  wife,  and  tell  her  from  me  — "  Here  the  voice 
stuck  in  the  throat  of  the  little  knight  for  a  while.  "  And 
say  to  her  from  me  —  He  halted  again,  and  then  added 
quickly,  "  This  life  is  nothing  ! " 

The  bowman  departed.  After  him  the  troops  went  out 
gradually.  Pan  Michael  mounted  his  horse  and  watched 
over  the  inarch.  The  castle  was  evacuated  slowly,  because 
of  the  rubbish  and  fragments  which  blocked  the  way. 

Ketling  approached  the  little  knight.  "  I  will  go  down," 
said  he,  fixing  his  teeth. 

"Go !  but  delay  till  the  troops  have  marched  out.     Go !  " 

Here  they  seized  each  other  in  an  embrace  which  lasted 
some  time.  The  eyes  of  both  were  gleaming  with  an 
uncommon  radiance.  Ketling  rushed  away  at  last  toward 
the  vaults. 

Pan  Michael  took  the  helmet  from  his  head.  He  looked 
awhile  yet  on  the  ruin,  on  that  field  of  his  glory,  on  the 
rubbish,  the  corpses,  the  fragments  of  walls,  on  the  breast- 
work, on  the  guns ;  then  raising  his  eyes,  he  began  to  pray. 
His  last  words  were,  "Grant  her,  O  Lord,  to  endure  this 
patiently;  give  her  peace  !" 

Ah  !  Ketling  hastened,  not  waiting  even  till  the  troops 
had  marched  out ;  for  at  that  moment  the  bastions  quivered, 
an  awful  roar  rent  the  air;  bastions,  towers,  walls,  horses, 
guns,  living  men,  corpses,  masses  of  earth,  all  torn  upward 
with  a  flame,  and  mixed,  pounded  together,  as  it  were,  into 
one  dreadful  cartridge,  flew  toward  the  sky. 

Thus  died  Volodyovski,  the  Hector  of  Kamenyets,  the 
first  soldier  of  the  Commonwealth. 

In  the  monastery  of  St.  Stanislav  stood  a  lofty  cata- 
falque in  the  centre  of  the  church  ;  it  was  surrounded  with 
gleaming  tapers,  and  on  it  lay  Pan  Volodyovski  in  two 
coffins,  one  of  lead  and  one  of  wood.  Tin-  lids  had  been 
fastened,  and  the  funeral  service  was  just  ending. 


508  PAN  MICHAEL. 

It  was  the  heartfelt  wish  of  the  widow  that  the  body 
should  rest  in  Hreptyoff ;  but  since  all  Podolia  was  in  the 
hands  of  the  enemy,  it  was  decided  to  bury  it  temporarily 
in  Stanislav,  for  to  that  place  the  "  exiles  "  of  Kamenyets 
had  been  sent  under  a  Turkish  convoy,  and  there  delivered 
to  the  troops  of  the  hetman. 

All  the  bells  in  the  monastery  were  ringing.  The  church 
was  tilled  with  a  throng  of  nobles  and  soldiers,  who  wished 
to  look  for  the  last  time  at  the  coffin  of  the  Hector  of 
Kamenyets,  and  the  first  cavalier  of  the  Commonwealth. 
It  was  whispered  that  the  hetman  himself  was  to  come  to 
the  funeral ;  but  as  he  had  not  appeared  so  far,  and  as  at 
any  moment  the  Tartars  might  come  in  a  chambul,  it  was 
determined  not  to  defer  the  ceremony. 

Old  soldiers,  friends  or  subordinates  of  the  deceased, 
stood  in  a  circle  around  the  catafalque.  Among  others  were 
present  Pan  Mushalski,  the  bowman,  Pan  Motovidlo,  Pan 
Snitko,  Pan  Hromyka,  Pan  Nyenashinyets,  Pan  Novoveski, 
and  many  others,  former  officers  of  the  stanitsa.  By  a 
marvellous  fortune,  no  man  was  lacking  of  those  who  had 
sat  on  the  evening  benches  around  the  hearth  at  Hreptyoff ; 
all  had  brought  their  heads  safely  out  of  that  war,  except 
the  man  who  was  their  leader  and  model.  That  good  and 
just  knight,  terrible  to  the  enemy,  loving  to  his  own ;  that 
swordsman  above  swordsmen,  with  the  heart  of  a  dove,  — 
lay  there  high  among  the  tapers,  in  glory  immeasurable, 
but  in  the  silence  of  death.  Hearts  hardened  through  war 
were  crushed  with  sorrow  at  that  sight;  yellow  gleams 
from  the  tapers  shone  on  the  stern,  suffering  faces  of 
warriors,  and  were  reflected  in  glittering  points  in  the  tears 
dropping  down  from  their  eyelids. 

Within  the  circle  of  soldiers  lay  Basia,  in  the  form  of  a 
cross,  on  the  floor,  and  near  her  Zagloba,  old,  broken, 
decrepit,  and  trembling.  She  had  followed  on  foot  from 
Kamenyets  the  hearse  bearing  that  most  precious  coffin, 
and  now  the  moment  had  come  when  it  was  necessary  to 
give  that  coffin  to  the  earth.  Walking  the  whole  way, 
insensible,  as  if  not  belonging  to"  this  world,  and  now  at 
the  catafalque,  she  repeated  with  unconscious  lips,  "  This 
life  is  nothing  !  "  She  repeated  it  because  that  beloved  one 
had  commanded  her,  for  that  was  the  last  message  which  he 
had  sent  her;  but  in  that  repetition  and  in  those  expres- 
sions were  mere  sounds,  without  substance,  without  truth, 
without  meaning  and  solace.  ISTo ;  '•'  This  life  is  nothing  " 


PAN    MI. -II A  HI..  ;„,;, 

meant  merely  regret,  darkness,  despair,  torpor,  merely 
misfortune  incurable,  life  beaten  and  broken,  — an  erroneous 
announcement  that  there  was  nothing  above  her,  neither 
mercy  nor  hope ;  that  there  was  merely  a  desert,  and 
it  will  be  a  desert  which  God  alone  can  rill  when  He  sends 
death. 

They  rang  the  bells ;  at  the  great  altar  Mass  was  at  its 
end.  At  last  thundered  the  deep  voice  of  the  priest,  as  if 
calling  from  the  abyss:  "  Reyuiescat  in  pace  !  "  A  feverish 
quiver  shook  Basia,  and  in  her  unconscious  head  rose  one 
thought  alone,  "Now,  now,  they  will  take  him  from  me!" 
But  that  was  not  yet  the  end  of  the  ceremony.  The  knights 
had  prepared  many  speeches  to  be  spoken  at  the  lowering 
of  the  coffin ;  meanwhile  Father  Kaminski  ascended  the 
pulpit,  — the  same  who  had  been  in  Hreptyoff  frequently, 
ami  who  in  time  of  Basia's  illness  had  prepared  her  for 
death. 

People  in  the  church  began  to  spit  and  cough,  as  is  usual 
before  preaching;  then  they  were  quiet,  and  all  eyes  were 
turned  to  the  pulpit.  The  rattling  of  a  drum  was  heard  on 
the  pulpit. 

The  hearers  were  astonished.  Father  Kaminski  beat  the 
drum  as  if  for  alarm  ;  he  stopped  suddenly,  and  a  deathlike 
silence  followed.  Then  the  dram  was  heard  a  second  and 
a  third  time  ;  suddenly  the  priest  threw  the  drumsticks  to 
the  floor  of  the  church,  and  called,  — 

"  Pan  Colonel  Volodyovski !  " 

A  spasmodic  scream  from  Basia  answered  him.  It 
became  simply  terrible  in  the  church.  Pan  Zagloba  rose, 
and  aided  by  Mushalski  bore  out  the  fainting  woman. 

Meanwhile  the  priest  continued :  "  In  God's  name.  Pan 
Volodyovski,  they  are  beating  the  alarm !  there  is  war. 
the  enemy  is  in  the  land  !  —  and  do  you  not  spring  up,  seize 
your  sabre,  mount  your  horse  ?  Have  you  forgotten  your 
former  virtue  ?  Do  you  leave  us  alone  with  sorrow,  with 
alarm  ?" 

The  breasts  of  the  knights  rose;  and  a  universal  weeping 
broke  out  in  the  church,  and  broke  out  several  times  again, 
when  the  priest  lauded  the  virtue,  the  love  of  country, 
and  the  bravery  of  the  dead  man.  His  own  words  carried 
the  preacher  away.  His  face  became  pale;  his  forehead  was 
covered  with  sweat;  his  voice  trembled.  Sorrow  for  the 
little  knight  carried  him  away,  sorrow  for  Kanu: 
sorrow  for  the  Commonwealth,  ruined  by  the  hands  of  the 


510  PAN  MICHAEL. 

followers  of  the  Crescent ;  and  finally  he  finished  his  eulogy 
with  this  prayer  :  — 

"  O  Lord,  they  will  turn  churches  into  inosques,  and  chant 
the  Koran  in  places  where  till  this  time  the  Gospel  has  been 
chanted.  Thou  hast  cast  us  down,  0  Lord ;  Thou  hast  turned 
Thy  face  from  us,  and  given  us  into  the  power  of  the  foul 
Turk.  Inscrutable  are  Thy  decrees ;  but  who,  0  Lord,  will 
resist  the  Turk  now  ?  What  armies  will  war  with  him  on  the 
boundaries  ?  Thou,  from  whom  nothing  in  the  world  is  con- 
cealed, —  Thou  knowest  best  that  there  is  nothing  superior 
to  our  cavalry  !  What  cavalry  can  move  for  Thee,  0  Lord, 
as  ours  can  ?  Wilt  Thou  set  aside  defenders  behind  whose 
shoulders  all  Christendom  might  glorify  Thy  name  ?  0 
kind  Father,  do  not  desert  us  !  show  us  Thy  mercy  !  Send 
us  a  defender  !  Send  a  crusher  of  the  foul  Mohammedan ! 
Let  him  come  hither ;  let  him  stand  among  us ;  let  him  raise 
our  fallen  hearts  !  Send  him,  0  Lord  !  " 

At  that  moment  the  people  gave  way  at  the  door ;  and 
into  the  church  walked  the  -  hetman,  Pan  Sobieski.  The 
eyes  of  all  were  turned  to  him ;  a  quiver  shook  the  people ; 
and  he  went  with  clatter  of  spurs  to  the  catafalque,  lordly, 
mighty,  with  the  face  of  a  Caesar.  An  escort  of  iron 
cavalry  followed  him. 

"  Salvator !  "  cried  the  priest,  in  prophetic  ecstasy. 

Sobieski  knelt  at  the  catafalque,  and  prayed  for  the  soul 
of  Volodyovski. 


PAN  iMlCHAEL. 


EPILOGUE. 

MORE  than  a  year  after  the  fall  of  Kamenyets,  when  the 
dissensions  of  parties  had  ceased  in  some  fashion,  the 
Commonwealth  came  forth  at  last  in  defence  of  its  eastern 
boundaries ;  and  it  came  forth  offensively.  The  grand 
hetman,  Sobieski,  marched  with  thirty-one  thousand  cavalry 
and  infantry  to  Hotin,  in  the  Sultan's  territory,  to  strike  on 
the  incomparably  more  powerful  legions  of  Hussein  Pasha, 
stationed  at  that  fortress. 

The  name  of  Sobieski  had  become  terrible  to  the  enemy. 
During  the  year  succeeding  the  capture  of  Kamenyets  the 
hetman  accomplished  so  much,  injured  the  countless  army 
of  the  Padishah  to  such  a  degree,  crushed  out  so  many 
chambuls,  rescued  such  throngs  of  captives,  that  old  Hus- 
sein, though  stronger  in  the  number  of  his  men,  though 
standing  at  the  head  of  chosen  cavalry,  though  aided  by 
Kaplan  Pasha,  did  not  dare  to  meet  the  hetman  in  the  open 
field,  and  decided  to  defend  himself  in  a  fortified  camp. 

The  hetman  surrounded  that  camp  with  his  army  ;  and  it 
was  known  universally  that  he  intended  to  take  it  in  an 
offensive  battle.  Some  thought  surely  that  it  was  an 
undertaking  unheard  of  in  the  history  of  war  to  attack  a 
superior  with  an  inferior  army  when  the  enemy  was  pro- 
tected by  walls  and  trenches.  Hussein  had  a  hundred  and 
twenty  guns,  while  in  the  whole  Polish  camp  there  were 
only  fifty.  The  Turkish  infantry  was  threefold  greater  in 
number  than  the  power  of  the  hetman  ;  of  janissaries  alone, 
so  terrible  in  hand-to-hand  conflict,  there  were  eighty 
thousand.  But  the  hetman  believed  in  his  star,  in  the 
magic  of  his  name,  —  and  finally  in  the  men  whom  he  led. 
Under  him  marched  regiments  trained  and  tempered  in 
fire,  —  men  who  had  grown  up  from  years  of  childhood  in 
the  bustle  of  war,  who  had  passed  through  an  uncounted 
number  of  expeditions,  campaigns,  sieges,  battles.  Many 
of  them  remembered  the  terrible  days  of  Hmelnitski,  of 
Zbaraj  and  Berestechko ;  many  had  gone  through  all  the 
wars,  Swedish,  Prussian,  Moscovite,  civil,  Danish,  and 
Hungarian.  With  him  were  the  escorts  of  magnates, 
formed  of  veterans  only ;  there  were  soldiers  from  the 


51'J  PAN   MICHAEL. 

stanitsas,  for  whom  war  had  become  what  peace  is  for  other 
men,  —  the  ordinary  condition  and  course  of  life.  Under 
the  voevoda  of  Rus  were  fifteen  squadrons  of  hussars,  — 
cavalry  considered,  even  by  foreigners,  as  invincible  ;  there 
were  light  squadrons,  the  very  same  at  the  head  of  which 
the  hetinan  had  i-nflicted  such  disasters  on  detached  Tartar 
chambuls  after  the  fall  of  Kamenyets  ;  there  were  finally 
the  land  infantry,  who  rushed  on  janissaries  with  the  butts 
of  their  muskets,  without  firing  a  shot. 

War  had  reared  those  veterans,  for  it  had  reared  whole 
generations  in  the  Commonwealth;  but  hitherto  they  had 
been  scattered,  or  in  the  service  of  opposing  parties.  Now, 
when  internal  agreement  had  summoned  them  to  one  camp 
and  one  command,  the  hetraan  hoped  to  crush  with  such 
soldiers  the  stronger  Hussein  and  the  equally  strong  Kaplan. 
These  old  soldiers  were  led  by  trained  men  whose  names 
were  written  more  than  once  in  the  history  of  recent  wars, 
in  the  changing  wheel  of  defeats  and  victories. 

The  hetman  himself  stood  at  the  head  of  them  all  like 
a  sun,  and  directed  thousands  with  his  will ;  but  who  were 
the  other  leaders  who  at  this  camp  in  Hotin  were  to 
cover  themselves  with  immortal  glory  ?  There  were  the 
two  Lithuanian  hetmans,  —  the  grand  hetman,  Pats,  and  the 
field  hetman,  Michael  Kazimir  Radzivill.  These  two  joined 
the  armies  of  the  kingdom  a  few  days  before  the  battle, 
and  now,  at  command  of  Sobieski,  they  took  position 
on  the  heights  which  connected  Hotin  with  Jvanyets. 
Twelve  thousand  warriors  obeyed  their  commands  ;  among 
these  were  two  thousand  chosen  infantry.  From  the 
Dniester  toward  the  south  stood  the  allied  regiments  of 
Wallachia,  who  left  the  Turkish  camp  on  the  eve  of  the 
battle  to  join  their  strength  with  Christians.  At  the 
flank  of  the  Wallachians  stood  with  his  artillery  Pan 
Kantski,  incomparable  in  the  capture  of  fortified  places, 
in  the  making  of  intrenchments,  and  the  handling  of  can- 
non. He  had  trained  himself  in  foreign  countries,  but  soon 
excelled  even  foreigners.  Behind  Kantski  stood  Korytski's 
Russian  and  Mazovian  infantry ;  farther  on,  the  field  het- 
man of  the  kingdom,  Dmitri  Vishnyevetski,  cousin  of  the 
sickly  king.  He  had  under  him  the  light  cayalry.  Next 
to  him,  with  his  own  squadron  of  infantry  and  cavalry, 
stood  Pan  Yendrei  Pototski,  once  an  opponent  of  the  het- 
man, now  an  admirer  of  his  greatness.  Behind  him  and 
behind  Korytski  stood,  under  Pan  Yablonovski,  voevoda  of 


1'AN   MICIIAKL.  513 

Rus,  fifteen  squadrons  of  hussars  in  glittering  armor,  with 
helmets  casting  a  threatening  shade  on  their  faces,  and  with 
wings  at  their  shoulders.  A  forest  of  lances  reared  their 
points  above  these  squadrons ;  but  the  men  were  calm. 
They  were  confident  in  their  invincible  force,  and  sure  that 
it  would  come  to  them  to  decide  the  victory. 

There  were  warriors  inferior  to  these,  not  in  bravery,  but 
in  prominence.  There  was  Pan  Lujetski,  whose  brother 
the  Turks  had  slain  in  Bodzanoff ;  for  this  deed  he  had  sworn 
undying  vengeance.  There  was  Pan  Stefan  Charnyetski, 
nephew  of  the  great  Stefan,  and  field  secretary  of  the  king- 
dom. He,  in  time  of  the  siege  of  Kamenyets,  had  been  at 
the  head  of  a  whole  band  of  nobles  at  Golemb,  as  a  partisan 
of  the  king,  and  had  almost  roused  civil  war ;  now  he  desired 
to  distinguish  himself  with  bravery.  There  was  Gabriel 
Silnitski,  who  had  passed  all  his  life  in  war,  and  age  had 
already  whitened  his  head ;  there  were  other  voevodas  and 
castellans,  less  acquainted  with  previous  wars,  less  famous, 
but  therefore  more  greedy  of  glory. 

Among  the  knighthood  not  clothed  with  senatorial  dig- 
nity, illustrious  above  others,  was  Pan  Yan,  the  famous 
hero  of  Zbaraj,  a  soldier  held  up  as  a  model  to  the  knight- 
hood. He  had  taken  part  in  every  war  fought  by  the 
Commonwealth  during  thirty  years.  His  hair  was  gray  ; 
but  six  sons  surrounded  him,  in  strength  like  six  wild  boars. 
Of  these,  four  knew  war  already,  but  the  two  younger  had 
to  pass  their  novitiate ;  hence  they  were  burning  with  such 
eagerness  for  battle  that  their  father  was  forced  to  restrain 
them  with  words  of  advice. 

The  officers  looked  with  great  respect  on  this  father  and 
his  sons ;  but  still  greater  admiration  was  roused  by  Pan 
Yarotski,  who,  blind  of  both  eyes,  like  the  Bohemian  king1 
Yan,  joined  the  campaign.  He  had  neither  children  nor 
relatives;  attendants  led  him  by  the  arms;  he  hoped  for 
no  more  than  to  lay  down  his  life  in  battle,  benefit  his 
country,  and  win  glory.  There  too  was  Pan  Rechytski, 
whose  father  and  brother  fell  during  that  year. 

There  also  was  Pan  Motovidlo,  who  had  escaped  not 
long  before  from  Tartar  bondage,  and  gone  to  ilu-  ti«-M 
with  Pan  Myslishevski*  The  first  wished  to  avenge  his 
captivity ;  the  second,  the  injustice  which  he  had  suffered 
at  Kamenyets,  where,  in  spite  of  the  treaty  and  his  dignity 

*  More  likely  Van  Zisca,  the  great  lender  of  the  Hussites. 


514  PAN  MICHAEL. 

of  noble,  he  had  been  beaten  with  sticks  by  the  janissaries. 
There  were  knights  of  long  experience  from  the  stanitsas 
of  the  Dniester,  —  the  wild  Pan  Rushchyts  and  the  incom- 
parable bowman,  Mushalski,  who  had  brought  a  sound  head 
o,ut  of  Kamenyet,s,  because  the  little  knight  had  sent  him  to 
Basia  with  a  message ;  there  was  Pan  Snitko  and  Pan 
Nyenashinyets  and  Pan  Hromyka,  and  the  most  unhappy  of 
all,  young  Pan  Adam.  Even  his  friends  and  relatives  wished 
death  to  this  man,  for  there  remained  no  consolation  for 
him.  When  he  had  regained  his  health,  Pan  Adam  extermi- 
nated chambuls  for  a  whole  year,  pursuing  Lithuanian 
Tartars  with  special  animosity.  After  the  defeat  of  Pan 
Motovidlo  by  Krychinski,  he  hunted  Krychinski  through 
all  Podolia,  gave  him  no  rest,  and  troubled  him  beyond 
measure.  During  those  expeditions  he  caught  Adurovich 
and  flayed  him  alive ;  he  spared  no  prisoners,  but  found  no 
relief  for  his  suffering.  A  month  before  the  battle  he  joined 
Yablonovski's  hussars. 

This  was  the  knighthood  with  which  Pan  Sobieski  took 
his  position  at  Hotin.  Those  soldiers  were  eager  to  wreak 
vengeance  for  the  wrongs  of  the  Commonwealth  in  the  first 
instance,  but  also  for  their  own.  In  continual  battles  with 
the  Pagans  in  that  land  soaked  in  blood,  almost  every  man 
had  lost  some  dear  one,  and  bore  within  him  the  memory  of 
some  terrible  misfortune.  The  grand  hetman  hastened  to 
battle  then,  for  he  saw  that  rage  in  the  hearts  of  his  sol- 
diers might  be  compared  to  the  rage  of  a  lioness  whose 
whelps  reckless  hunters  have  stolen  from  the  thicket. 

On  Nov.  9,  1674,  the  affair  was  begun  by  skirmishes. 
Crowds  of  Turks  issued  from  behind  the  walls  in  the  morn- 
ing; crowds  of  Polish  knights  hastened  to  meet  them  with 
eagerness.  Men  fell  on  both  sides,  but  with  greater  loss  to 
the  Turks.  Only  a  few  Turks  of  note  or  Poles  fell,  however. 
Pan  May,  in  the  very  beginning  of  the  skirmish,  was  pierced 
by  the  curved  sabre  of  a  gigantic  spahi ;  but  the  youngest 
son  of  Pan  Yan  with  one  blow  almost  severed  the  head 
from  that  spahi.  By  this  deed  he  earned  the  praise  of  his 
prudent  father,  and  notable  glory. 

They  fought  in  groups  or  singly.  Those  who  were  look- 
ing at  the  struggle  gained  courage ;  greater  eagerness  rose 
in  them  each  moment.  Meanwhile,  detachments  of  the 
army  were  disposed  around  the  Turkish  camp,  each  in  the 
place  pointed  out  by  the  hetman.  Pan  Sobieski,  taking  his 
position  on  the  old  Yassy  road,  behind  the  infantry  of 


PAN  MICHAEL.  515 

Kprytski,  embraced  with  his  eyes  the  whole  camp  of  Hus- 
sein ;  and  on  his  face  he  had  the  serene  calmness  which  a 
master  certain  of  his  art  has  before  he  commences  his  labor. 
From  time  to  time  he  sent  adjutants  with  commands ;  then 
with  thoughtful  glance  he  looked  at  the  struggle  of  the 
skirmishers.  Toward  evening  Pan  Yablonoyski,  voevoda 
of  Kus,  came  to  him. 

"  The  intrenchments  are  so  extensive,"  said  he,  "  that  it 
is  impossible  to  attack  from  all  sides  simultaneously." 

"  To-morrow  we  shall  be  in  the  intrench  ments;  and  after 
to-morrow  we  shall  cut  down  those  men  in  three  quarters 
of  an  hour,"  said  Sobieski,  calmly. 

Night  came  in  the  mean  while.  Skirmishers  left  the  field. 
The  hetman  commanded  all  divisions  to  approach  the 
intrenchments  in  the  darkness  ;  this  Hussein  hindered  as 
much  as  he  could  with  guns  of  large  calibre,  but  without 
result.  Toward  morning  the  Polish  divisions  moved  for- 
ward again  somewhat.  The  infantry  began  to  throw  up 
breastworks.  Some  regiments  had  pushed  on  to  within  a 
good  musket-shot.  The  janissaries  opened  a  brisk  fire  from 
muskets.  At  command  of  the  hetman  almost  no  answer 
was  given  to  these  volleys,  but  the  infantry  prepared  for  an 
attack  hand  to  hand.  The  soldiers  were  waiting  only  for 
the  signal  to  rush  forward  passionately.  Over  their  extended 
line  flew  grapeshot  with  whistling  and  noise  like  flocks  of 
birds.  Pan  Kantski's  artillery,  beginning  the  conflict  at 
daybreak,  did  not  cease  for  one  moment.  Only  when  the 
battle  was  over  did  it  appear  what  great  destruction  its  mis- 
siles had  wrought  falling  in  places  covered  most  thickly 
with  the  tents  of  janissaries  and  spahis. 

Thus  passed  the  time  until  mid-day ;  but  since  the  day 
was  short,  as  the  month  was  November,  there  was  need  of 
haste.  On  a  sudden  all  the  trumpets  were  heard,  and  drums. 
-great  and  small.  Tens  of  thousands  of  throats  shouted  in 
one  voice ;  the  infantry,  supported  by  light  cavalry  advanc- 
,  ing  near  them,  rushed  in  a  dense  throng  to  the  onset. 

They  attacked  the  Turks  at  five  points  simultaneously. 
Yan  Dennemark  and  Christopher  de  Bohan,  warriors  of 
experience,  led  the  foreign  regiments.  The  first,  fiery 
by  nature,  hurried  forward  so  eagerly  that  he  reached  the 
intrenchment  before  others,  and  came  near  destroying  his 
regiment,  for  he  had  to  meet  a  salvo  from  several  thousand 
muskets.  He  fell  himself.  His  soldiers  began  to  waver;  but 
at  that  moment  De  Bohan  came  to  the  rescue  and  prevented 


516  TAN  MICHAEL. 

a  panic.  With  a  step  as  steady  as  i,f  on  parade,  and  keep- 
ing time  to  the  music,  he  passed  the  whole  distance  to  the 
Turkish  intrenchment,  answered  salvo  with  salvo,  and 
when  the  fosse  was  filled  with  fascines  passed  it  first, 
under  a  storm  of  bullets,  inclined  his  cap  to  the  janissaries, 
and  pierced  the  first  banneret  with  a  sabre.  The  soldiers, 
carried  away  by  the  example  of  such  a  colonel,  sprang  for- 
ward, and  then  began  dreadful  struggles  in  which  discipline 
and  training  vied  with  the  wild  valor  of  the  janissaries. 

But  dragoons  were  led  quickly  from  the  direction  of 
Taraban  by  Tetwin  and  Doenhoff ;  another  regiment  was 
led  by  Aswer  Greben  and  Haydepol,  all  distinguished  sol- 
diers who,  except  Haydepol,  had  covered  themselves  with 
great  glory  under  Charnyetski  in  Denmark.  The  troops  of 
their  command  were  large  and  sturdy,  selected  from  men  on 
the  royal  domains,  well  trained  to  fighting  on  foot  and  on 
horseback.  The  gate  was  defended  against  them  by  irreg- 
ular janissaries,  who,  though  their  number  was  great,  were 
thrown  into  confusion  quickly  and  began  to  retreat ;  when 
they  came  to  hand-to-hand  conflict  they  defended  them- 
selves only  when  they  could  not  find  a  place  of  escape. 
That  gate  was  captured  first,  and  through  it  cavalry  went 
first  to  the  interior  of  the  camp. 

At  the  head  of  the  Polish  land  infantry  Kobyletski, 
Jebrovski,  Pyotrkovchyk,  and  Galetski  struck  the  intrench- 
ments  in  three  other  places  The  most  tremendous  struggle 
raged  at  the  main  gate,  on  the  Yassy  road,  where  the  Mazo- 
vians  closed  with  the  guard  of  Hussein  Pasha.  The  vizir 
was  concerned  mainly  with'  that  gate,  for  through  it  the 
Polish  cavalry  might  rush  to  the  camp ;  hence  he  resolved 
to  defend  it  most  stubbornly,  and  urged  forward  unceas- 
ingly detachments  of  janissaries.  The  land  infantry  took 
the  gate  at  a  blow,  and  then  strained  all  their  strength  to 
retain  it.  Cannon-balls  and  a  storm  of  bullets  from  small 
arms  pushed  them  back ;  from  clouds  of  smoke  new  bands 
of  Turkish  warriors  sprang  forth  to  the  attack  every 
moment.  Pan  Kobyletski,  not  waiting  till  they  came, 
rushed  at  them  like  a  raging  bear ;  and  two  walls  of  men 
pressed  each  other,  swaying  backward  and  forward  in  close 
quarters,  in  confusion,  in  a  whirl,  in  torrents  of  blood,  and 
on  piles  of  human  bodies.  They  fought  with  every  manner 
of  weapon,  —  with  sabres,  with  knives,  with  gunstocks,  with 
shovels,  with  clubs,  with  stones ;  the  crush  became  at 
moments  so  great,  so  terrible,  that  men  grappled  and  fought 


1'AN    MK'IIAKI,.  517 

with  fists  and  with  teeth.  Hussein  tried  twice  to  break  the 
infantry  with  the  impact  of  cavalry;  but  the  infantry  fell 
upon  him  each  time  with,  such  "extraordinary  resolution" 
that  the  cavalry  had  to  withdraw  in  disorder.  Pan  Sobieski 
took  pity  at  last  on  his  men,  and  sent  all  the  camp  servants 
to  help  them. 

At  the  head  of  these  was  Pan  Motovidlo.  This  rabble, 
not  employed  usually  in  battle  and  armed  with  weapons  of 
any  kind,  rushed  forward  with  such  desire  that  they  roused 
admiration  even  in  the  hetmau.  It  may  be  that  greed  of 
plunder  inspired  them ;  perhaps  the  fire  seized  them  which 
enlivened  the  whole  army  that  day.  It  is  enough  that  they 
struck  the  janissaries  as  if  they  had  been  smoke,  and  over- 
powered them  so  savagely  that  in  the  first  onset  they  forced 
them  back  a  musket-shot's  length  from  the  gate.  Hussein 
threw  new  regiments  into  the  whirl  of  battle  ;  and  the  strug- 
gle, renewed  in  the  twinkle  of  an  eye,  lasted  whole  hours. 
At  last  Korytski,  at  the  head  of  chosen  regiments,  beset 
the  gate  in  force  ;  the  hussars  from  a  distance  moved  like  a 
great  bird  raising  itself  lazily  to  flight,  and  pushed  toward 
the  gate  also. 

At  this  time  an  adjutant  rushed  to  the  hetman  from  the 
Eastern  side  of  the  camp. 

"  The  voevoda  of  Belsk  is  on  the  ramparts ! "  cried  he, 
with  panting  breast. 

After  him  came  a  second,  — 

"  The  hetmans  of  Lithuania  are  on  the  ramparts  !  " 

After  him  came  others,  always  with  similar  news.  It 
had  grown  dark  in  the  world,  but  light  was  beaming  from 
the  face  of  the  hetman.  He  turned  to  Pan  Bidzinski,  who 
at  that  moment  was  near  him,  and  said,  — 

"  Next  comes  the  turn  of  the  cavalry ;  but  that  will  be  in 
the  morning." 

No  one  in  the  Polish  or  the  Turkish  army  knew  or 
imagined  that  the  hetman  intended  to  defer  the  general 
attack  till  the  following  morning.  Nay,  adjutants  sprang 
to  the  captains  with  the  command  to  be  ready  at  any 
instant.  The  infantry  stood  in  closed  ranks;  sabres  and 
lances  were  burning  the  hands  of  the  cavalry.  All  were 
awaiting  the  order  impatiently,  for  the  men  were  chilled 
and  hungry. 

But  no  order  came  ;  meanwhile  hours  passed.  The  night 
became  as  black  as  mourning.  Drizzling  rain  had  set  in  at 
one  o'clock  in  the  day j  but  about  midnight  a  strong  wind 


518  PAN  MICHAEL. 

with  frozen  rain  and  snow  followed.  Gusts  of  it  froze  the 
marrow  in  men's  bones ;  the  horses  were  barely  able  to 
stand  in  their  places ;  men  were  benumbed.  The  sharpest 
frost,  if  dry,  could  not  be  so  bitter  as  that  wind  and  snow, 
which  cut  like  a  scourge.  In  constant  expectation  of  the 
signal,  it  was  not  possible  to  think  of  eating  and  drinking 
or  of  kindling  fires.  The  weather  became  more  terrible 
each  hour.  That  Avas  a  memorable  night,  —  "  a  night  of 
torture  and  gnashing  of  teeth."  The  voices  of  the 
captains  —  "  Stand  !  stand !  —  were  heard  every  moment ;  and 
the  soldiers,  trained  to  obedience,  stood  in  the  greatest 
readiness  without  movement,  and  patiently. 

But  in  front  of  them,  in  rain,  storm,  and  darkness,  stood 
in  equal  readiness  the  stiffened  regiments  of  the  Turks. 
Among  them,  too,  no  one  kindled  a  fire,  no  one  ate,  no 
one  drank.  The  attack  of  all  the  Polish  forces  might 
come  at  any  moment,  therefore  the  spahis  could  not  drop 
their  sabres  from  their  hands  ;  the  janissaries  stood  like  a 
wall,  with  their  muskets  ready  to  fire.  The  hardy  Polish 
soldiers,  accustomed  to  the  sternness  of  wiutei*,  could  pass 
such  a  night ;  but  those  men  reared  in  the  mild  climate  of 
Eumelia,  or  amid  the  palms  of  Asia  Minor,  were  suffering 
more  than  their  powers  could  endure.  At  last  Hussein 
discovered  why  Sobieski  did  not  begin  the  attack.  It  was 
because  that  frozen  rain  was  the  best  ally  of  the  Poles. 
Clearly,  if  the  spahis  and  janissaries  were  to  stand  through 
twelve  hours  like  those,  the  cold  would  lay  them  down 
on  the  morrow  as  grain  sheaves  are  laid.  They  would  not 
even  try  to  defend  themselves,  —  at  least  till  the  heat  of 
the  battle  should  warm  them. 

Both  Poles  and  Tartars  understood  this.  About  four 
o'clock  in  the  morning  two  pashas  came  to  Hussein,  —  Yan- 
ish  Pasha  and  Kiaya  Pasha,  the  leader  of  the  janissaries, 
an  old  warrior  of  renown  and  experience.  The  faces  of 
both  were  full  of  anxiety  and  care. 

"  Lord !  "  said  Kiaya,  first,  "  if  my  '  lambs '  stand  in  this 
way  till  daylight,  neither  bullets  nor  swords  will  be  needed 
against  them." 

"  Lord  ! "  said  Vanish  Pasha,  "my  spahis  will  freeze,  and 
will  not  fight  in  the  morning." 

Hussein  twisted  his  beard,  foreseeing  defeat  for  his  army 
and  destruction  to  himself.  But  what  was  he  to  do  ?  Were 
he  to  let  his  men  break  ranks  for  even  a  minute,  or  let  them 
kindle  fires  to  warm  themselves  with  hot  food,  the  attack 


PAN  MICHAEL.  519 

would  begin  immediately.  As  it  was,  the  trumpets  were 
sounded  at  intervals  near  the  ramparts,  as  if  the  cavalry 
were  just  ready  to  move. 

Kiaya  and  Yanish  Pasha  saw  only  one  escape  from  dis- 
aster, —  that  was,  not  to  wait  for  the  attack,  but  to  strike 
with  all  force  on  the  enemy.  It  was  nothing  that  he  was  in 
readiness;  for  though  ready  to  attack,  he  did  not  expect 
attack  himself.  Perhaps  they  might  drive  him  out  of  the 
intrenchments ;  in  the  worst  event  defeat  was  likely  in  a 
night  battle,  in  the  battle  of  the  morrow  it  was  certain. 

But  Hussein  did  not  venture  to  follow  the  advice  of  the 
old  warriors. 

" How  ! "  said  he ;  "you  have  furrowed  the  camp-ground 
with  ditches,  seeing  in  them  the  one  safeguard  against  that 
hellish  cavalry,  —  that  was  your  advice  and  your  precaution ; 
now  you  say  something  different." 

He  did  not  give  that  order.  He  merely  gave  an  order  to 
fire  from  cannon,  to  which  Pan  Kantski  answered  with  great 
effect  instantly.  The  rain  became  colder  and  colder,  and  cut 
more  and  more  cruelly;  the  wind  roared,  howled,  went 
through  clothing  and  skin,  and  froze  the  blood  in  men's 
veins.  So  passed  that  long  November  night,  in  which  the 
strength  of  the  warriors  of  Islam  was  failing,  and  despair, 
with  a  foreboding  of  defeat,  seized  hold  of  their  hearts. 

At  the  very  dawn  Yanish  Pasha  went  once  more  to  Hus- 
sein with  advice  to  withdraw  in  order  of  battle  to  the  bridge 
on  the  Dniester  and  begin  there  the  game  of  war  cautiously. 
"  For,"  said  he,  "  if  the  troops  do  not  withstand  the  onrush 
of  the  cavalry,  they  will  withdraw  to  the  opposite  bank, 
and  the  river  will  give  them  protection."  Kiaya,  the  leader 
of  the  janissaries,  was  of  another  opinion,  however.  He 
thought  it  too  late  for  Yanish's  advice,  and  moreover  he 
feared  lest  a  panic  might  seize  the  whole  army  immediately, 
if  the  order  were  given  to  withdraw.  "  The  spahis  with  the 
aid  of  the  irregular  janissaries  must  sustain  the  first  shock 
of  the  enemy's  cavalry,  even  if  all  are  to  perish  in  doini,'  so. 
By  that  time  the  janissaries  will  come  to  their  aid,  ami 
when  the  first  impetus  of  the  unbelievers  is  stopped, 
perhaps  God  may  send  victory." 

Thus  advised,  Kiaya  and  Hussein  followed.  Mounted 
multitudes  of  Turks  pushed  forward ;  the  janissaries,  reg- 
ular and  irregular,  were  disposed  behind  them,  around  the 
tents  of  Hussein.  Their  deep  ranks  presented  a  splendid 
{ind  fear-inspiring,  spectacle.  The  white-bearded  Kiaya, 


520  PAN   MICHAEL. 

"  Lion  of  God,"  who  till  that  time  had  led  only  to  victory, 
flew  past  their  close  ranks,  strengthening  them,  raising  their 
courage,  reminding  them  of  past  battles  and  their  own 
unbroken  preponderance.  To  them  also,  battle  was  sweeter 
than  that  idle  waiting  in  storm  and  in  rain,  in  wind  which 
was  piercing  them  to  the  bone ;  hence,  though  they  could 
barely  grasp  the  muskets  and  spears  in  their  stiffened  hands, 
they  were  still  cheered  by  the  thought  that  they  would  warm 
them  in  battle.  With  far  less  desire  did  the  spahis  await 
the  attack,  because  on  them  was  to  fall  its  first  fury, 
because  among  them  were  many  inhabitants  of  Asia  Minor 
and  of  Egypt,  who,  exceedingly  sensitive  to  cold,  were  only 
half  living  after  that  night.  The  horses  also  suffered  not  a 
little,  and  though  covered  with  splendid  caparisons,  they 
stood  with  heads  toward  the  earth,  puffing  rolls  of  steam 
from  their  nostrils.  The  men  with  blue  faces  and  dull  eyes 
did  not  even  think  of  victory.  They  were  thinking  only 
that  death  would  be  better  than  torment  like  that  in  which 
the  last  night  had  been  passed  by  them,  but  best  of  all 
would  be  flight  to  their  distant  homes,  beneath  the  hot  rays 
of  the  sun. 

Among  the  Polish  troops  a  number  of  men  without  suf- 
ficient clothing  had  died  before  day  on  the  ramparts ;  in 
general,  however,  they  endured  £he  cold  far  better  than  the 
Turks,  for  the  hope  of  victory  strengthened  them,  and  a 
faith,  almost  blind,  that  since  the  hetman  had  decided  that 
they  were  to  stiffen  in  the  rain,  the  torment  must  come  out 
infallibly  for  their  good,  and  for  the  evil  and  destruction  of 
the  Turks.  Still,  even  they  greeted  the  first  gleams  of  that 
morning  with  gladness. 

At  this  same  time  Sobieski  appeared  at  the  battlements. 

There  was  no  brightness  in  the  sky,  but  there  was  bright- 
ness on  his  face ;  for  when  he  saw  that  the  enemy  intended 
to  give  battle  in  the  camp  he  was  certain  that  that  day 
would  bring  dreadful  defeat  to  Mohammed.  Hence  he 
went  from  regiment  to  regiment,  repeating :  "  For  the  dese- 
cration of  churches !  for  blasphemy  against  the  Most  Holy 
Lady  in  Kamenyets-!  for  injury  to  Christendom  and  the 
Commonwealth !  for  Kamenyets ! "  The  soldiers  had  a 
terrible  look  on  their  faces,  as  if  wishing  to  say :  "  We  can 
barely  restrain  ourselves  !  Let  us  go,  grand  netnian,  and 
you  will  see  !  " 

The  gray  light  of  morning  grew  clearer  and  clearer;  out 
of  the  fog  rows  of  horses'  heads,  forms  of  men,  lances, 


PAN   MICHAKL.  r>21 

banners,  finally  regiments  of  infantry,  emerged  more  dis- 
tinctly each  moment.  First  they  began  to  move  and 
advance  in  the  fog  toward  the  enemy,  like  two  rivers,  at 
the  flanks  of  the  cavalry ;  then  the  light  horse  moved,  leav- 
ing only  a  broad  road  in  the  middle,  over  which  the  hussars 
were  to  rush  when  the  right  moment  came. 

Every  leader  of  a  regiment  in  the  infantry,  every  captain, 
had  instructions  and  knew  what  to  do.  Pan  Kantski's 
artillery  began  to  speak  more  profoundly,  calling  out  from 
the  Turkish  side  also  strong  answers.  Then  musketry  fire 
thundered,  a  mighty  shout  was  heard  throughout  the  whole 
camp,  — the  attack  had  begun. 

The  misty  air  veiled  the  view,  but  sounds  of  the  struggle 
reached  the  place  where  the  hussars  were  in  waiting.  The. 
rattle  of  arms  could  be  heard,  and  the  shouting  of  men. 
The  hetman,  who  till  then  had  remained  with  the  hussars, 
and  was  conversing  with  Pan  Yablonovski,  stopped  on  a 
sudden  and  listened. 

"  The  infantry  are  fighting  with  the  irregular  janissaries ; 
those  in  the  front  trenches  are  scattered,"  said  he  to  the 
voevoda. 

After  a  time,  when  the  sound  of  musketry  was  failing, 
one  mighty  salvo  roared  up  on  a  sudden  ;  after  it  another 
very  quickly.  It  was  evident  that  the  light  squadrons  had 
pushed  back  the  spahis  and  were  in  presence  of  the 
janissaries. 

The  grand  hetman,  putting  spurs  to  his  horse,  rushed 
like  lightning  at  the  head  of  some  tens  of  men  to  the  battle ; 
the  voevoda  of  Rus  remained  with  the  fifteen  squadrons  of 
hussars,  who,  standing  in  order,  were  waiting  only  for  the 
signal  to  spring  forward  and  decide  the  fate  of  the  strus^lc. 
They  waited  long  enough  after  that ;  but  meanwhile  in  the 
depth  of  the  camp  it  was  seething  and  roaring  more  and 
more  terribly.  The  battle  seemed  at  times  to  roll  on  to  the 
right,  then  to  the  left,  now  toward  the  Lithuanian  armies, 
now  toward  the  voevoda  of  Belsk,  precisely  as  when  in  time 
of  storm  thunders  roll  over  the  sky.  The  artillery-fire  of 
the  Turks  was  becoming  irregular,  while  Pan  Kantski's 
batteries  played  with  redoubled  vigor.  After  the  course  of 
an  hour  it  seemed  to  the  voevoda  of  Rus  that  the  weight 
of  the  battle  was  transferred  to  the  centre,  directly  in  front 
of  his  cavalry. 

At  that  moment  the  grand  hetman  rushed  up  at  the 
head  of  his  escort.  Flame  was  shooting  from  his  eyes. 


522  PAN   MICHAEL. 

He  reined   in   his   horse   near   the   voevoda   of  Eus,  and 
exclaimed,  — 

"  At  them,  now,  with  God's  aid ! " 

"  At  them ! "  shouted  the  voevoda  of  Eus. 

And  after   him   the   captains   repeated   the    commands. 
With  a  terrible  noise  that  forest  of  lances  dropped  with  one  ( 
movement   toward   the   heads   of  the   horses,   and    fifteen' 
squadrons  of  that  cavalry  accustomed  to  crush  everything 
before  it  moved  forward  like  a  giant  cloud. 

From  the  time  when,  in  the  three  days'  battle  at  Warsaw, 
the  Lithuanian  hussars,  under  Prince  Polubinski,  split  the 
whole  Swedish  army  like  a  wedge,  and  went  through  it,  no 
one  remembered  an  attack  made  with  such  power.  Those 
squadrons  started  at  a  trot,  but  at  a  distance  of  two  hun- 
dred paces  the  captains  commanded :  "  At  a  gallop  !  "  The 
men  answering,  with  a  shout,  "Strike!  Crush!"  bent  in 
the  saddles,  and  the  horses  went  at  the  highest  speed. 
Then  that  column,  moving  like  a  whirlwind,  and  formed 
of  horses,  iron  men,  and  straightened  lances,  had  in  it 
something  like  the  might  of  an  element  let  loose.  And  it 
went  like  a  storm,  or  a  raging  river,  with  roar  and  outburst. 
The  earth  groaned  under  the  weight  of  it ;  and  if  no  man 
had  levelled  a  lance  or  drawn  a  sabre,  it  was  evident  that 
the  hussars  with  their  very  weight  and  impact  would  hurl 
down,  trample,  and  break  everything  before  them,  just  as  a 
column  of  wind  breaks  and  crushes  a  forest.  They  swept 
on  in  this  way  to  the  bloody  field,  covered  with  bodies,  on 
which  the  battle  was  raging.  The  light  squadrons  were 
still  struggling  on  the  wings  with  the  Turkish  cavalry, 
which  they  had  succeeded  in  pushing  to  the  rear  consider- 
ably, but  in  the  centre  the  deep  ranks  of  the  janissaries 
stood  like  an  indestructible  wall.  A  number  of  times  the 
light  squadrons  had  broken  themselves  against  that  wall,  as 
a  wave  rolling  on  breaks  itself  against  a  rocky  shore.  To 
crush  and  destroy  it  was  now  the  task  of  the  hussars. 

A  number  of  thousand  of  muskets  thundered,  "  as  if  one 
man  had  fired."  A  moment  more  the  janissaries  fix  them- 
selves more  firmly  on  their  feet;  some  blink  at  sight  of  the 
terrible  onrush;  the  hands  of  some  are  trembling  while 
holding  their  spears ;  the  hearts  of  all  are  beating  like  ham- 
mers, their  teeth  are  set,  their  breasts  are  breathing  convul- 
sively. The  hussars  are  just  on  them;  the  thundering 
breath  of  the  horses  is  heard.  Destruction,  annihilation, 
death,  are  flying  at  them. 


PAN   MICHAEL. 

"Allah  !  "  "Jesus,  Mary  !  "  —these  two  shouts  meet  and 
mingle  as  terribly  as  if  they  had  never  burst  from  men's 
breasts  till  that  moment.  The  living  wall  trembles,  bends, 
breaks.  The  dry  crash  of  broken  lances  drowns  for  a  time 
every  other  sound ;  after  that,  is  heard  the  bite  of  iron,  the 
sound,  as  it  were,  of  thousands  of  hammers  beating  with 
full  force  on  anvils,  as  of  thousands  of  flails  on  a  floor,  and 
cries  singly  and  collectively,  groans,  shouts,  reports  of  pis- 
tols and  guns,  the  howling  of  terror.  Attackers  and 
attacked  mingle  together,  rolling  in  an  unimaginable  whirl. 
A  slaughter  follows;  from  under  the  chaos  blood  flows, 
warm,  steaming,  filling  the  air  with  raw  odor. 

The  first,  second,  third,  and  tenth  rank  of  the  janissaries 
are  lying  like  a  pavement,  trampled  with  hoofs,  pierced 
with  spears,  cut  with  swords.  But  the  white-bearded  Kiaya, 
"Lion  of  God,"  hurls  all  his  men  into  the  boiling  of  the 
battle.  It  is  nothing  that  they  are  put  down  like  grain 
before  a  storm.  They  fight !  Rage  seizes  them ;  they 
breathe  death ;  they  desire  death.  The  column  of  horses' 
breasts  pushes  them,  bends,  overturns  them.  They  open 
the  bellies  of  horses  with  their  knives ;  thousands  of  sabres 
cut  them  without  rest ;  blades  rise  like  lightning  and  fall 
on  their  heads,  shoulders,  and  hands.  They  cut  a  horse- 
man on  the  legs,  on  the  knees ;  they  wind  around,  and  bite 
like  venomous  worms ;  they  perish  and  avenge  themselves. 
Kiaya,  "  Lion  of  God,"  hurls  new  ranks  again  and  again 
into  the  jaws  of  death.  He  encourages  them  to  battle  with 
a  cry,  and  with  curved  sabre  erect  he  rushes  into  the  chaos 
himself.  With  that  a  gigantic  hussar,  destroying  like  a 
flame  everything  before  him,  falls  on  the  white-bearded 
old  man,  and  standing  in  his  stirrups  to  hew  the  more 
terribly,  brings  down  with  an  awful  sweep  a  two-handed 
sword  on  the  gray  head.  Neither  the  sabre  nor  the  head- 
piece forged  in  Damascus  are  proof  against  the  blow ;  and 
Kiaya,  cleft  almost  to  the  shoulders,  falls  to  the  ground,  as 
if  struck  by  lightning. 

Pan  Adam,  for  it  was  he,  had  already  spread  dreadful 
destruction,  for  no  one  could  withstand  the  strength  and 
sullen  rage  of  the  man ;  but  now  he  had  given  the  greatest 
service  by  hewing  down  the  old  hero,  who  alone  had  sup- 
ported the  stubborn  battle.  The  janissaries  shouted  in  a 
terrible  voice  on  seeing  the  death  of  their  leader,  and  more 
than  ten  of  them  aimed  muskets  at  the  breast 'of  the  cava- 
lier. He  turned  toward  them  like  dark  night;  and  before 


524  PAN  MICHAEL. 

other  hussars  could  strike  them,  the  shots  roared,  Pan 
Adam  reined  in  his  horse  and  bent  in  the  saddle.  Two 
comrades  seized  him  by  the  shoulders ;  but  a  smile,  a  guest 
long  unknown,  lighted  his  gloomy  face,  his  eyeballs  turned 
in  his  head,  and  his  white  lips  whispered  words  which  in 
the  din  of  battle  no  man  could  distinguish.  Meanwhile 
the  last  ranks  of  the  janissaries  wavered. 

The  valiant  Yanish  Pasha  tried  to  renew  the  battle,  but 
the  terror  of  panic  had  seized  on  his  men ;  efforts  were  use- 
less. The  ranks  were  broken  and  shivered,  pushed  back, 
beaten,  trampled,  slashed;  they  could  not  come  to  order. 
At  last  they  burst,  as  an  overstrained  chain  bursts,  and  like 
single  links  men  flew  from  one  another  in  every  direction, 
howling,  shouting,  throwing  down  their  weapons,  and  cover- 
ing their  heads  with  their  hands.  The  cavalry  pursue  them  ; 
and  they,  not  finding  space  sufficient  for  flight  singly,  gather 
at  times  into  a  dense  mass,  on  whose  shoulders  ride  the 
cavalry,  swimming  in  blood.  Pan  Mushalski,  the  bowman, 
struck  the  valiant  Yanish  Pasha  such  a  sabre-blow  on  the 
neck  that  his  spinal  marrow  gushed  forth  and  stained  his 
silk  shirt  and  the  silver  scales  on  his  armor. 

The  irregular  janissaries,  beaten  by  the  Polish  infantry, 
and  a  part  of  the  cavalry  which  was  scattered  in  the  very 
beginning  of  the  battle,  in  fact,  a  whole  Turkish  throng,  fled 
now  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  camp,  where  there  was  a 
rugged  ravine  some  tens  of  feet  deep.  Terror  drove  the 
mad  men  to  that  place.  Many  rushed  over  the  precipice, 
"  not  to  escape  death,  but  death  at  the  hands  of  the  Poles." 
Pan  Bidzinski  blocked  the  road  to  this  despairing  throng ; 
but  the  avalanche  of  fugitives  tore  him  away  with  it,  and 
threw  him  to  the  bottom  of  the  precipice,  which  after  a 
time  was  filled  almost  to  the  top  with  piles  of  slain,  wounded, 
and  suffocated  men. 

From  this  place  rose  terrible  groans  ;  bodies  were  quiver- 
ing, kicking  one  another,  or  clawing  with  their  fingers  in 
the  spasms  of  death.  Those  groans  were  heard  until  even- 
ing; until  evening  those  bodies  were  moving,  but  more  and 
more  slowly,  less  and  less  noticeably,  till  at  dark  there  was 
silence. 

Awful  were  the  results  of  the  blow  of  the  hussars. 
Eight  thousand  janissaries,  slain  with  swords,  lay  near  the 
ditch  surrounding  the  tents  of  Hussein  Pasha,  not  counting 
those  who  perished  in  the  flight,  or  at  the  foot  of  the  preci- 
pice. The  Polish  cavalry  were  in  the  tents  ;  Pan  Sobieski  had 


PAN   MICHAEL  505 

triumphed.  The  trumpets  were  raising  the  hoarse  sounds 
of  victory,  when  the  battle  raged  up  again  on  a  sudden. 

After  the  breaking  of  the  janissaries  the  vizir,  Hussein 
Pasha,  at  the  head  of  his  mounted  guards  and  of  all  that  were 
left  of  the  cavalry,  fled  through  the  gate  leading  to  Yassy ; 
but  when  the  squadrons  of  Dmitri  Vishnyevetski,  the  field 
hetman,  caught  him  outside  and  began  to  hew  without 
mercy,  he  turned  back  to  the  camp  to  seek  escape  elsewhere, 
just  as  a  wild  beast  surrounded  in  a  forest  looks  for  some 
outlet.  He  turned  with  such  speed  that  he  scattered  in  a 
moment  the  light  squadron  of  Cossacks,  put  to  disorder  the 
infantry,  occupied  partly  in  plundering  the  camp,  and  came 
within  "  half  a  pistol-shot "  of  the  hetman  himself. 

"  In  the  very  camp,"  wrote  Pan  Sobieski,  afterward,  "  we 
were  near  defeat,  the  avoidance  of  which  should  be  ascribed 
to  the  extraordinary  resolution  of  the  hussars." 

In  fact,  the  pressure  of  the  Turks  was  tremendous,  pro- 
duced as  it  was  under  the  influence  of  utter  despair,  and 
the  more  terrible  that  it  was  entirely  unexpected ;  but  the 
hussars,  not  cooled  yet  after  the  heat  of  battle,  rushed  at 
them  on  the  spot,  with  the  greatest  vigor.  Prusinovski's 
squadron  moved  first,  and  that  brought  the  attackers  to  a 
stand ;  after  it  rushed  Pan  Yan  with  his  men,  then  the 
whole  army,  —  cavalry,  infantry,  camp-followers, — every 
one  as  he  was,  every  one  where  he  was,  —  all  rushed  with 
the  greatest  rage  on  the  enemy,  and  there  was  a  battle, 
somewhat  disordered,  but  not  yielding  in  fury  to  the  attack 
of  the  hussars  on  the  janissaries. 

When  the  struggle  was  over  the  knights  remembered 
with  wonder  the  bravery  of  the  Turks,  who,  attacked  by 
Vishnyevetski  and  the  hetmans  of  Lithuania,  surrounded  on 
all  sides,  defended  themselves  so  madly  that  though  Sobi- 
eski permitted  the  Poles  to  take  prisoners  then,  they  were 
able  to  seize  barely  a  handful  of  captives.  When  the  heavy 
squadrons  scattered  them  at  last,  after  half  an  hour's  battle, 
single  groups  arid  later  single  horsemen  fought  to  the  last 
breath,  shouting,  "  Allah  ! "  Many  glorious  deeds  were 
done,  the  memory  of  which  has  not  perished  among  men. 
The  field  hetman  of  Lithuania  cut  down  a  powerful  pasha 
who  had  slain  Pan  Rudomina,  Pan  Kimbar,  and  Pan  Rdult- 
ovski ;  but  the  hetman,  coming  to  him  unobserved,  cut  off 
his  head  at  a  blow.  Pan  Sobieski  slew  in  presence  of  the 
army  a  spahi  who  had  fired  a  pistol  at  him.  Pan  Bid/inski, 
escaping  from  the  ravine  by  some  miracle,  though  bruised 


526  PAN  MICHAEL. 

and  wounded,  threw  himself  at  once  into  the  whirl  of  battle, 
and  fought  till  he  fainted  from  exhaustion.  He  was  sick 
long,  but  after  some  months  recovered  his  health,  and  went 
again  to  the  field,  with  great  glory  to  himself. 

Of  men  less  known  Pan  Kushchyts  raged  most,  taking  off 
horsemen  as  a  wolf  seizes  sheep  from  a  flock.  Fan  Yan 
on  his  part  worked  wonders ;  around  him  his  sons  fought 
like  young  lions.  With  sadness  and  gloom  did  these 
knights  think  afterward  of  what  that  swordsman  above 
swordsmen,  Pan  Michael,  would  have  done  on  such  a  day, 
were  it  not  that  for  a  year  he  had  been  in  the  earth  resting 
in  God  and  in  glory.  But  others,  taught  in  his  school, 
gained  sufficient  renown  for  him  and  themselves  on  that 
bloody  field. 

Two  of  the  old  knights  of  Hreptyoff  fell  in  that  renewed 
battle,  Pan  Motovidlo  and  the  terrible  bowman,  Mushalski. 
A  number  of  balls  pierced  the  breast  of  Motovidlo  simulta- 
neously, and  he  fell  as  an  oak  falls,  which  has  come  to  its 
time.  Eye-witnesses  said  that  he  fell  by  the  hand  of 
those  Cossack  brothers  who  under  the  lead  of  Hohol  had 
struggled  to  the  last  against  their  mother  (Poland)  and 
Christendom.  Pan  Mushalski,  wonderful  to  relate,  perished 
by  an  arrow,  which  some  fleeing  Turk  had  sent  after  him. 
It  passed  through  his  throat  just  in  the  moment  when,  at 
the  perfect  defeat  of  the  Pagans,  he  was  reaching  his  hand 
to  the  quiver,  to  send  fresh,  unerring  messengers  of  death 
in  pursuit  of  the  fugitives.  But  his  soul  had  to  join  the 
soul  of  Didyuk,  so  that  the  friendship  begun  on  the  Turkish 
galley  might  endure  with  the  bonds  of  eternity.  The  old 
comrades  of  Hreptyoff  found  the  three  bodies  after  the 
battle  and  took  farewell  tearfully,  though  they  envied  them 
the  glorious  death.  Pan  Adam  had  a  smile  on  his  lips,  and 
calm  serenity  on  his  face ;  Pan  Motovidlo  seemed  to  be 
sleeping  quietly ;  and  Pan  Mushalski  had  his  eyes  raised,  as 
if  in  prayer.  They  were  buried  together  on  that  glorious 
field  of  Hotin  under  the  cliff  on  which,  to  the  eternal 
memory  of  the  day,  their  three  names  were  cut  out  beneath 
a  cross. 

The  leader  of  the  whole  Turkish  army,  Hussein  Pasha, 
escaped  on  a  swift  Anatolian  steed,  but  only  to  receive  in 
Stambul  a  silk  string  from  the  hands  of  the  Sultan.  Of  the 
splendid  Turkish  army  merely  sm'all  bands  were  able  to 
bear  away  sound  heads  from  defeat.  The  last  legions  of 
Hussein  Pasha's  cavalry  gave  themselves  into  the  hands  of 


PAN    MICHAKL.  ;,-; 

the  armies  of  the  Commonwealth.  In  tliis  way  the  field 
hetman  drove  them  to  the  grand  hetman,  and  he  drove  them 
to  the  Lithuanian  hetmans,  they  again  to  the  field  hetman  ; 
so  the  turn  went  till  nearly  all  of  them  had  perished.  Of 
the  janissaries  almost  no  man  escaped.  The  whole  immense 
camp  was  streaming  with  blood,  mixed  with  snow  and  rain. 
So  many  bodies  were  lying  there  that  only  frost,  ravens, 
and  wolves  prevented  a  pestilence,  which  comes  usually 
from  bodies  decaying.  The  Polish  troops  fell  into  such 
ardor  of  battle  that  without  drawing  breath  well  after  the 
victory,  they  captured  Hotin.  In  the  camp  itself  immense 
booty  was  taken.  One  hundred  and  twenty  guns  and  with 
them  three  hundred  flags  and  banners  did  Pan  Sobieski  take 
from  that  field,  on  which  for  the  second  time  in  the  course 
of  a  century  the  Polish  sabre  celebrated  a  grand  triumph. 

Pan  Sobieski  himself  stood  in  the  tent  of  Hussein  Pasha, 
which  was  sparkling  with  rubies  and  gold,  and  from  it  he 
sent  news  of  the  fortunate  victory  to  every  side  by  swift 
couriers.  Then  cavalry  and  infantry  assembled;  all  the 
squadrons,  —  Polish,  Lithuanian,  and  Cossack, — the  whole 
army,  stood  in  order  of  battle.  A  Thanksgiving  Mass  was 
celebrated,  and  on  that  same  square  where  the  day  previous 
muezzins  had  cried :  "  La  Allah  ilia  Allah  !  "  was  sounded 
"Te  Deum  laudamus  !  " 

The  hetman,  lying  in  the  form  of  a  cross,  heard  Mass  and 
the  hymn ;  and  when  he  rose,  tears  of  joy  were  flowing 
down  his  worthy  face.  At  sight  of  that  the  legions  of 
knights,  the  blood  not  yet  wiped  frc/m  them,  and  while  still 
trembling  from  their  efforts  in  battle,  gave  out  three  times 
the  loud  thundering  shout :  — 

"  Vivat  Joannes  victor !  " 

Ten  years  later,  when  the  Majesty  of  King  Yan  III.  (Sobi- 
eski) hurled  to  the  dust  the  Turkish  power  at  Vienna,  that 
shout  was  repeated  from  sea  to  sea,  from  mountain  to 
mountain,  throughout  the  world,  wherever  bells  called  the 
faithful  to  prayer. 

Here  ends  this  series  of  books,  written  in  the  course  of  a 
number  of  years  and  with  no  little  toil,  for  the  strengthen- 
ing of  hearts. 

THE    END. 


THE  NOVELS  OF  HENRYK  SIENKIEWICZ 

AUTHORIZED  AND  UNABRIDGED  TRANSLATIONS 

By  JEREMIAH  CURTIIN. 
PUBLISHED    BY    LITTLE,  BROWN,  &    COMPANY. 


Just  read?/:  a  New  Volume      ••»" 

Hania. 

Translated  from  the  Polish  of  HENRYK  SIENKIEWICZ,  author 
of  "  Quo  Vadis,"  "  With  Fire  and  Sword,"  etc.,  by  JEREMIAH 
CURTIN.  Crown  8vo.  Cloth,  with  portrait.  $2.00. 

"  Hania,"  the  new  volume  by  Sienkiewicz,  has  been  carefully  trans- 
lated from  the  Polish  by  Jeremiah  Curtin,  whose  translations  of  "  Quo 
Vadis,"  "  With  Fire  and  Sword,"  and  the  other  writings  of  Sienkiewicz, 
have  been  so  highly  commended  for  their  spirit  and  faithfulness  by 
scholars  and  critics  throughout  the  country.  It  is  uniform  in  size  and 
binding  with  Mr.  Curtin's  translations  of  "  Quo  Vadis,"  and  the  other 
works  of  Sienkiewicz,  Library  Edition,  and  contains  a  portrait  of  the 
author  and  his  daughter,  reproduced  in  photogravure  from  a  photograph 
taken  last  summer  in  the  Carpathian  Mountains. 

The  volume  comprises  over  five  hundred  pages,  about  one-third  being 
occupied  by  the  story  which  gives  the  book  its  title,  "  Hania.''  It  is  a 
story  of  strength  and  tenderness  and  powerful  characterization,  its  scene 
being  laid  in  Poland.  In  addition  to  "  Hania,"  the  volume  includes  the 
author's  latest  story,  "  On  the  Bright  Shore,"  a  romance  of  Monte 
Carlo;  a  philosophical  religious  story  of  the  crucifixion  entitled  "Let 
Us  Follow  Him,"  which  suggested  to  Sienkiewicz  the  idea  of  writing 
"  Quo  Vadis  " ;  a  sketch  entitled  "  Tartar  Captivity,"  the  germ  of  "  With 
Fire  and  Sword"  and  the  other  volumes  of  the  gieat  historical  trilogy; 
a  humorous  novelette  entitled  "  That  Third  Woman,"  etc. 

The  new  book  by  the  distinguished  Polish  writer  is  of  great  interest 
and  power,  and  will  doubtless  have  a  wide  sale.  With  the  volumes 
previously  issued  it  gives  in  a  series  of  admirable  translations  a  practi- 
cally complete  set  of  the  novels  and  romances  of  Sienkiewicz. 

Let  Us  Follow  Him. 

Translated  from  the  Polish  of  HENRYK  SIENKIEWICZ,  by 
JEREMIAH  CURTIN.  i6mo.  Cloth,  extra,  gilt  top,  with  photo- 
gravure frontispiece  by  EDMUND  H.  GARRETT.  50  cents. 

Although  "Let  Us  Follow  Him"  is  included  in  the  ne.w  volume  by 
Sienkiewicz  entitled  "  Hania,"  its  publication  in  a  separate  volume  has 
been  deemed  advisable  for  the  reason  that  this  story  gave  to  its  author 
the  idea  of  writing  "  Quo  Vadis,"  the  literary  sensation  of  the  time. 

The  period  of  "  Let  Us  Follow  Him  "  is 'that  of  the  death  of  Christ. 
Antea,  the  wife  of  a  Roman  patrician,  ill  with  terrible  visions,  is  advised 
by  a  physician  to  seek  the  air  of  Jerusalem.  There  she  and  her  husband 
meet  Pilate,  who  tells  them  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Nazarene.  Jesus,  and 
his  condemnation  to  death.  They  are  present  at  the  crucifixion,  and  Antca 
gives  honor  to  the  condemned  Nazarene,  saying,  "Thou  art  Truth." 


"Quo  Vadis." 

11  Of  intense  interest  to  the  whole  Christian  civilization.  —  Chicago  Tribune. 

"  Quo  VADIS."  A  Narrative  of  the  Time  of  Nero.  By 
HENRYK  SIENKIEWICZ,  author  of  "With  Fire  and  Sword," 
"  The  Deluge,"  etc.  Translated  from  the  Polish  by  JEREMIAH 
CURTIN.  Crown  8vo.  Cloth,  $2.00. 

One  of  the  greatest  books  of  our  day.  —  The  Bookman. 

In  all  respects  a  surpassing  work  of  fiction.  —  New  York  Herald. 

His  understanding  of  the  Roman  heart  is  marvellous.  —  Boston 
Transcript. 

One  of  the  strongest  historical  romances  that  have  been  written  in  the 
last  half  century.  —  Chicago  Evening  Post. 

Absorbingly  interesting,  brilliant  in  style,  imposing  in  materials,  and 
masterly  in  their  handling.  —  Providence  News. 

The  portrait  of  Petronius  is  alone  a  masterpiece  of  which  the  greatest 
word-painters  of  any  age  might  be  proud. — Philadelphia  Church  Standard 

A  book  to  which  no  review  can  do  justice.  A  most  noble  historical 
romance,  in  which  the  reader  nev.er  for  a  moment  loses  interest.  — 
Detroit  Free  Press. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  books  of  the  decade.  It  burns  upon  the 
brain  the  struggles  and  triumphs  of  the  early  Church.  —  Boston  Daily 
Advertiser. 

With  him  we  view,  appalled,  Rome,  grand  and  awful,  in  her  last 
throes.  The  picture  of  the  giant  Ursus  struggling  with  the  wild  animals 
is  one  that  will  always  hold  place  with  such  literary  triumphs  as  that  of 
the  chariot  race  in  "Ben  Hur."  —  Boston  Courier. 

The  world  needs  such  a  book  at  intervals,  to  remind  it  again  of  the 
surpassing  power  and  beauty  of  Christ's  central  idea.  ...  A  climax  [the 
scene  in  the  arena]  beside  which  the  famous  chariot  race  in  "  Ben  Hur  " 
seems  tame.  —  Chicago  Tribune. 

Every  chapter  in  it  is  eloquent  with  meaning.  .  .  The  feasting  at 
the  imperial  palace,  the  contests  in  the  arena,  the  burning  of  Rome,  the 
rescue  of  Lygia,  the  Christian  maiden,  —  will  hold  their  place  in  memory 
with  unfading  color,  and  are  to  be  reckoned  among  the  significant  tri- 
umphs of  narrative  art. —  The  Boston  Beacon. 

Without  exaggeration  it  may  be  said  that  this  is  a  great  novel. 
It  will  become  recognized  by  virtue  of  its  own  merits  as  the  one  heroic 
monument  built  by  the  modern  novelist  above  the  ruins  of  decadent 
Rome,  and  in  honor  of  the  blessed  martyrs  of  the  early  Church.  There 
are  chapters  in  "  Quo  Vadis  "  so  convincing,  so  vital,  so  absolute,  that 
by  comparison  Lew.  Wallace's  popular  book  seems  tinsel,  while  Ware's 
honest  old  "  Aureliaii"  sinks  into  insignificance. — Brooklyn  Eagle. 

2 


Witb  Fire  and  Sword. 

The  only  modern  romance  -with  -which  it  can  be  compared  for  firt,  sprightli- 
tiess,  rapidity  of  action,  swift  changes,  and  absorbing  interest  is  "  Tht  Thict 
Musketeers''''  of  Dumas.  —  New  York  Tribune. 

WITH  FIRE  AND  SWORD.  An  Historical  Novel  of  Poland 
and  Russia.  By  HENRYK  SIENKIEWICZ.  Translated  from  the 
Polish  by  JEREMIAH  CURTIN.  With  photogravure  portrait  of 
the  author.  Crown  8vo.  Cloth,  $2.00. 

"  With  Fire  and  Sword  "  is  the  first  of  a  trilogy  of  historical  romances 
of  Poland,  Russia,  and  Sweden.  Their  publication  has  been  received 
throughout  the  United  States  by  readers  and  critics  as  an  event  in 
literature.  Action  in  the  field  has  never  before  been  described  in  any 
language  so  briefly,  so  vividly,  and  with  such  a  marvellous  expression 
of  energy.  The  famous  character  of  Zagloba  has  been  described  as 
"a curious  and  fascinating  combination  of  Falstaff  and  Ulysses."  Charles 
Dudley  Warner,  in  "  Harper's  Magazine,"  affirms  that  the  Polish  author 
has  in  Zagloba  given  a  new  creation  to  literature. 

Wonderful  in  its  strength  and  picturesqueness.  —  Boston  Courier. 

A  romance  which,  once  read,  is  not  easily  forgotten.  —  Literary  World. 

One  of  the  noblest  works  of  historical  romance  ever  -written.  —  The  Pilot. 

One  of  the  most  brilliant  historical  novels  ever  written. — Christian  Union. 

A  tremendous  work  in  subject,  size,  and  treatment.  —  Providence  Journal. 

Not  a  tedious  page  in  the  entire  magnificent  story.  —  Boston  Home 
fournal, 

The  force  of  the  work  recalls  certain  elements  of  Wallenstein. — 
Boston  Journal. 

The  first  of  Polish  novelists,  past  or  present,  and  second  to  none  ttow 
living  in  England,  France',  or  Germany.  —  BlackwoooTs  Magazine. 

He  exhibits  the  sustained  power  and  sweep  of  narrative  of  Walter 
Scott  and  the  humor  of  Cervantes.  —  Philadelphia  Inquirer. 

The  word  painting  is  startlingly  like  some  of  the  awesome  paintings 
by  Verestchagin.  We  do  not  feel  over  bold  in  saying  that  some  of  the 
character-drawing  is  Shakespearian.  Where,  outside  of  Shakespeare, 
can  such  a  man  as  Zagloba  be  found? — Christian  Advocate. 

A  novel  that  like  Thackeray's  "Henry  Esmond"  or  Scott's  "Ivanhoe" 
can  be  returned  to  again  and  again.  —  Boston  Gazette. 

Such  a  writer  as  Sienkiewicz,  the  Polish  novelist,  whose  works  belong 
with  the  very  best  of  their  class,  and  who  has  a  kind  of  Shakesperiart 
freshness,  virility,  and  power  of  characterization,  is  sufficient  to  give 
dignity  to  the  literature  of  a  whole  generation  in  his  own  country.  His 
three  novels  on  the  Wars  of  the  Polish  Commonwealth,  and  his  superb 
psychological  story,  "  Without  Dogma,"  *orm  a  permanent  addition  to 
modern  literature.  —  The  Outlook. 

3 


The  Deluge. 

It  even  surpasses  in  interest  and  power  the  same  author's  romance  "  With 
Fire  and  Sword"  .  ,  .  The  whole  story  swarms  with  brilliant  pictures  of  war^ 
and  with  personal  episodes  of  battle  and  adventure.  —  New  York  Tribune. 

THE  DELUGE.  An  Historical  Novel  of  Poland,  Sweden, 
and  Russia.  By  HENRYK  SIENKIEWICZ.  Translated  from  the 
Polish  by  JEREMIAH  CURTIN.  A  sequel  to  "With  Fire  and 
Sword."  With  a  map  of  the  country  at  the  period  in  which 
the  events  of  "  The  Deluge  "  and  "  With  Fire  and  Sword  " 
take  place.  2  v'ols.  Crown  8vo.  Cloth,  $3.00. 

"  The  wars  described  in  '  The  Deluge,'  "  says  the  translator,  "  are  the 
most  complicated  and  significant  in  the  whole  career  of  the  Common- 
wealth." The  hero  of  the  book,  Pan  Andrei  Kmita,  is  delineated  with 
remarkable  power;  and  the  wonderful  development  of  his  character  — 
from  the  beginning  of  the  book,  when  his  nature  is  wild  and  untamed, 
to  the  end,  when  he  becomes  the  savior  of  the  King  and  the  Common- 
wealth after  almost  unequalled  devotion  and  self-sacrifice — gives  this 
great  historical  romance  a  place  even  above  "  With  Fire  and  Sword." 

Wonderfully  vivid  and  life-like.  —  Congregationalist. 

Marvellous  in  its  grand  descriptions. — Chicago  Inter-Ocean. 

The  greatest  living  writer  of  the  romance  of  incident. — Boston  Courier. 

One  of  the  direct  anointed  line  of  the  kings  of  story-telling. — 
Literary  World. 

Has  the  humor  of  a  Cervantes  and  the  grim  vigor  of  Defoe.  —  Boston 
Gazette. 

A  really  great  novelist.  .  .  .  To  match  this  story  one  must  turn  to  the 
masterpieces  of  Scott  and  Dumas.  —  Philadelphia  Press. 


Pan  Michael. 

No  word  less  than  "Excelsior"  will  justly  describe  the  achievement  of  the 
trilogy  of  novels  of  which  "  Pan  Michael'1''  is  the  last.  — Baltimore  American. 

PAN  MICHAEL.  An  Historical  Novel  of  Poland,  Russia, 
and  the  Ukraine.  By  HENRYK  SIENKIEWICZ.  Translated  from 
the  Polish  by  JEREMIAH  CURTIN.  A  sequel  to  "With  Fire  and 
Sword  "  and  "  The  Deluge."  Crown  8vo.  Cloth,  $2.00. 

This  work  completes  .the  great  Polish  trilogy.  The  period  of  the 
story  is  1668-1674,  and  the  principal  historical  event  is  the  Turkish  inva- 
sion of  1672.  Pan  Michael,  a  favorite  character  in  the  preceding  stories, 
and  the  incomparable  Zagloba  figure  throughout  the  novel.  The  most 
important  historical  character  introduced  is  Sobieski,  who  was  elected 
king  in  1674. 

4 


Pan  Michael 

The  interest  of  the  trilogy,  both  historical  and  romantic,  is  splen- 
didly sustained.  —  The  Dial. 

A  great  novel.  It  abounds  in  creations.  It  is  a  fitting  ending  to  a 
great  trilogy,  — a  trilogy  which  teaches  great  lessons.  —  Boston  Advertiser. 

May  fairly  be  classed  as  Homeric.  —  The  Boston  Beacon. 

There  is  no  falling  off  in  interest  in  this  third  and  last  book  of  the 
series ;  again  Sienkiewicz  looms  as  one  of  the  great  novel  writers  of  the 
world.  —  The  Nation. 

From  the  artistic  standpoint,  to  have  created  the  character  of  Zag- 
loba  was  a  feat  comparable  with  Shakespeare's  creation  o£  Falstaff  and 
Goethe's  creation  of  Mephistopheles.  —  The  Dial* 


Without  Dogma. 


Emphatically  a  human  document  read  in  the  light  of  a  great  imagination.— 
Boston  Beacon. 

WITHOUT  DOGMA.  A  Novel  of  Modern  Poland.  By  HENRYK 
SIENKIEWICZ.  Translated  from  the  Polish  by  IZA  YOUNG. 
Crown  8vo.  Cloth,  $1.50. 

A  psychological  novel  of  modern  thought,  and  of  great  power.  Its 
utter  contrast  to  the  author's  historical  romances  exhibits  in  a  most 
striking  manner  the  remarkable  variety  of  his  genius. 

A  triumph  of  psychology.  —  Chicago  Times. 

A  masterly  piece  of  writing.  — Pittsburg  Bulletin. 

Belongs  to  a  high  order  of  fiction.  —  New  York  Times. 

Intellectually  the  novel  is  a  masterpiece. —  Christian  Union. 

Self-analysis  has  never  been  carried  further.  —  Colorado  Springs 
Gazette. 

Worthy  of  study  by  all  who  seek  to  understand  the  human  soul.— 
Boston  Times. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  works  of  modern  novelists.  —  Kansas 
City  Journal. 

Bold,  original,  and  unconventional,  and  displays  the  most  remarkable 
genius.  —  Boston  Home  Journal. 

In  her  beautiful  simplicity,  her  womanly  strength  and  purity,  the 
woman  stands  forth,  Beatrice-like,  in  strong  contrast  to  the  man.  —  Balti- 
more American. 

Both  absorbing  and  instructive.  Distinctly  a  notable  contribution  to 
the  mental  and  ethical  history  of  the  age.  —Boston  Courier. 

5 


Children  of  the  Soil 

A  great  novel,  such  as  enriches  the  reader'1  s  experience  and  extends  his  mental 
horizons.  One  can  compare  it  only  with  the  great  fictions  of  our  great  day,  and 
in  that  comparison  find  it  inferior  to  very  feiv  of  the  greatest.  — W.  D.  Ho  WELLS 
in  Harper's  Weekly. 

CHILDREN  OF  THE  SOIL.  Translated  from  the  Polish  of 
HENRYK  SIENKIEWICZ,  by  JEREMIAH  CURTIN.  Crown  8vo. 
Cloth,  $2.00. 

"  Children  of  the  Soil,"  a  novel  of  contemporary  life  in  Poland,  is  a 
work  of  profound  interest,  written  with  that  vividness  and  truthful  pre- 
cision which  have  made  the  author  famous.  The  great  question  of  the 
book  is,  What  can  a  good  and  honorable  woman  do  to  assist  a  man  in 
the  present  age  in  civilized  society?  The  question  is  answered  thor- 
oughly in  "  Children  of  the  Soil." 

A  work  of  the  very  first  order  .  .  .  which  posterity  will  class  among 
the  chejs-d'ceuvre  of  the  century.  In  this  romance  are  manifested  the 
noblest  and  rarest  qualities  that  an  author  can  possess :  a  wonderful 
delicacy  of  psychological  analysis,  an  incomparable  mastery  of  the  art 
of  painting  characters  and  morals,  and  the  rare  and  most  invaluable 
faculty  of  making  the  characters  live  in  the  printed  page.  —  Le  Figaro, 
Paris,  May  4,  1895. 

There  is  not  a  chapter  without  originality  and  a  delightful,  honest 
realism.  —  New  Haven  Evening  Leader. 

It  must  be  reckoned  among  the  finer  fictions  of  our  time,  and  shows 
its  author  to  be  almost  as  great  a  master  in  the  field  of  the  domestic 
novels  as  he  had  previously  been  shown  to  be  in  that  of  imaginative  his- 
torical romance.  —  Chicago  Dial. 

Few  books  of  the  century  carry  with  them  the  profound  moral  sig- 
nificance of  the  "  Children  of  the  Soil,"  but  the  book  is  a  work  of  art 
and  not  a  sermon.  Every  page  shows  the  hand  of  a  master.  —  Chicago 
Chronicle. 

There  are  few  pages  that  do  not  put  in  an  interesting  or  amusing 
light  some  current  doctrine  or  some  fashion  of  the  hour.  —  New  York 
Critic. 

Not  only  as  a  finely  elaborated  and  manifestly  truthful  depiction  of 
contemporary  Polish  life,  but  as  a  drama  of  the  human  heart,  inspired 
by  the  supreme  principles  of  creative  art,  "  Children  of  the  Soil "  is  de- 
cidedly a  book  to  be  read  and  lingered  over.  —  Boston  Beacon. 

It  is  a  book  to  sit  with  quietly  and  patiently,  to  read  with  conscience 
and  comprehension  awake  and  alert,  to  absorb  with  an  open  heart.  — 
Providence  News. 

This  is  a  narrative  long  but  full,  rich  in  vitality,  abounding  in  keen 
and  exact  characterization.  —  Milwaukee  Sentinel, 


SHORT  STORIES  BY  S1ENKIEWICZ. 

Yanko  the  Musician. 

His  energy  and  imagination  are  gigantesque.  He  writes  frost  efiict  - 
Chicago  Evening  Post. 

YANKO  THE  MUSICIAN,  AND  OTHER  STORIES.  By  HENRYK 
SIENKIEWICZ.  Translated  from  the  Polish  by  JEREMIAH  CUR- 
TIN.  With  Illustrations  by  EDMUND  H.  GARRETT,  i6mo. 
Cloth,  extra,  gilt  top,  $1.25. 

CONTENTS.  — 1.  YANKO  THE  MUSICIAN:  II.  THE  LIGHT-HOUSE 
KEEPER  OF  ASPINWALL;  III.  FROM  THE  DIARY  OF  A  TUTOR  IN 
POZNAN;  IV.  A  COMEDY  OF  ERRORS,  A  SKETCH  OF  AMERICAN 
LIFE;  V.  BARTER  THE  VICTOR. 

A  series  of  studies  of  the  impressionist  order,  full  of  light  and  color, 
delicate  in  sentiment,  and  exquisite  in  technical  expression.  —  Hasten 
Beacon. 

The  stories  are  deeply  intellectual.—  Philadelphia  Public  Ledger. 

The  note  of  patriotism,  of  love  of  home,  is  strong  in  all  these  stories. 
Chicago  frigaro. 

Full  of  powerful  interest.  —  Boston  Courier. 

Models  of  simplicity.  —  Brooklyn  Eagle. 

The  simple  story  of  the  lighthouse  man  is  a  masterpiece.  —New  York 
Times. 

They  have  all  the  charm  of  the  author's  manner.  —  Public  Opinion. 

The  tale  of  Yanko  has  wonderful  pathos.  —  Chicago  Herald. 

Lillian  Morris,  and  Other  Stories- 

LILLIAN  MORRIS,  AND  OTHER  STORIES.  Translated  from  the 
Polish  of  HENRYK  SIENKIEWICZ  by  JEREMIAH  CURTIN.  Illus- 
trated by  EDMUND  H.  GARRETT.  i6mo.  Cloth,  extra,  gilt 
top,  $1.25. 

CONTENTS.  —  I.  LILLIAN  MORRIS;  II.  SACHEM;  III.  ANGEL; 
IV.  THE  BULL-FIGHT. 

The  reminiscence  of  Spain  which  describes  a  bull-fight  in  Madrid  is 
a  realistic  and  rather  brilliant  sketch,  —  one  of  the  most  effective  ac- 
counts of  the  Spanish  national  sport  one  is  likely  to  find.  —  Review  of 
Reviews. 

"  Yamyol  "  in  this  new  collection  is  written  with  awful  intensity  and 
marvellous  power.  This  little  tale  is  a  masterpiece  of  literary  work,  and 
its  effect  on  the  reader  extraordinary. 

All  the  stories  are  remarkable.  —  Literary  World. 

7 


Opinions  regarding  Mr.  Curtin's  Translations. 
9999999 

tJ}£  *  have  read  with  diligent  attention  all  the  volumes  of  my 
works  sent  me  {American  Edition).  I  understand  how  great  the 
difficulties  were  which  you  had  to  overcome,  especially  in  trans- 
lating the  historical  novels,  the  language  of  which  is  somewhat 
archaic  in  character. 

I  admire  not  only  the  sincere  conscientiousness  and  accuracy, 
but  also  the  skill,  with  which  you  did  the  ^vork. 

Your  countrymen  will  establish  your  merit  better  than  I ;  as 
to  me,  I  can  only  desire  that  you  and  no  one  else  should  translate 
all  that  I  write. 

With  respect  and  friendship, 

HENRYK  S1ENKIEWICZ. 

^he  translation  appears  to  be  faithful,  for  none  of  the  glow 
j  and  vigor  of  the  great  Polish  novelist  are  missing,  and  the 

r-  work  is  indeed  a  triumph  of  genius.  —  Chicago  Mail. 

oWOTCl>.  Mr.  Curtin's  admirable  translation  of  this  brilliant  historical 

romance  may  be  said  to  have  taken  the  literary  critics  of  the 
day  by  storm.  —  Portland  Advertiser. 

Mr.  Curtin  deserves  the  gratitude  of  the  English-speaking 
public  for  his  most  excellent  and  spirited  translation.  We 
have  to  thank  him  for  an  important  contribution  to  the  number 
of  really  successful  historical  novels  and  for  a  notable  enlarge- 
-ment  of  our  understanding  of  a  people  whose  unhappy  fate 
has  deserved  the  deepest  sympathy  of  the  world.  —  Chicago 
Evening  Post. 

Mr.  Jeremiah  Curtin  shows  uncommon  ability  in  transla- 
tion; he  conveys  in  accurate  and  nervous  English  the  charm 
of  the  Polish  original,  frequently  exercising  much  ingenuity  in 
the  treatment  of  colloquial  idioms.  —  Literary  World. 

The  English-reading  world  cannot  be  too  grateful  to  Mr. 
Curtin  for  rendering  this  masterpiece  among  historical  novels 
into  such  luminous,  stirring  English.  He  has  brought  both 
skill  and  enthusiasm  to  his  work,  and  has  succeeded  in  giving 
us  a  thorough  Polish  work  in  English  dress.  —  Pittsburg 
Chronicle  Telegraph. 

Mr.  Curtin's  style  of  translation  is  excellent  and  apparently 
faithful,  and  he  is  entitled  to  the  thanks  of  the  English-reading 
public  for  revealing  this  new  and  powerful  genius.  —  Providence 
Journal. 

It  is  admirably  translated  by  that  remarkable,  almost  phe- 
nomenal, philologist  and  Slavonic  scholar,  Jeremiah  Curtin,  so 
long  a  resident  of  Russia,  and  at  one  time  secretary  of  legation 
there. — Brooklyn  Eagle. 

8 


"T fog 


Children 
of  the 
Soil. 


Short 
Stories- 


Mr.  Curtin  has  done  the  translation  so  well  that  the  pec» 
liarities  of  the  author's  style  have  been  preserved  with  great 
distinctness.  — Detroit  Tribune. 

This  story,  like  its  predecessor,  has  been  translated  from 
the  Polish  by  Jeremiah  Curtin  in  a  way  that  makes  its  stirring 
or  delightful  scenes  appear  to  have  been  written  originally  in 
English.  — Brooklyn  Daily  Eagle. 

Too  much  cannot  be  said  in  praise  of  the  conscientious  and 
beautiful  work  of  the  translator.  —  Chattanooga  Times. 

Of  Mr.  Curtin's  share  in  "  The  Deluge,"  there  are  no  words 
to  express  its  excellence  except  "  it  is  perfect."  Fortunate 
Mr.  Sienkiewicz  to  have  such  an  interpreter  1  Fortunate  Mr. 
Curtin  to  have  such  a  field  in  which  to  exercise  his  skill !  — 
Boston  Times. 

Mr.  Jeremiah  Curtin  has  accomplished  his  task  with  that 
sympathy  and  close  scholarship  which  have  always  distin- 
guished his  labors.  —  Boston  Saturday  Evening  Gazette. 

The  translation  is  full  of  sympathy,  of  vigor,  and  of  ele- 
gance. The  translator  has  accomplished  the  difficult  task  of 
preserving  the  spirit  of  the  original  without  failing  in  the 
requirement  of  the  tongue  in  which  he  was  writing,  and  the 
result  is  a  triumph  of  the  translator's  art.  He  has  done  a 
great  service  to  the  English  reader,  while  he  has  at  the  same 
time  made  for  himself  a  monument  which  would  cause  his 
name  long  to  be  remembered,  even  had  he  no  other  claims 
upon  public  gratitude.  —  Boston  Courier. 

fidelity  of  Mr.  Curtin's  translation  to  the  original  can 
judged  by  internal  evidence.     That  would  seem  to  be 

conclusive.    The  style  is  vigorous  and  striking.  —  Cleveland 

Plain  Dealer. 

The  translation  is  quite  up  to  Mr.  Curtin's  excellence.  — 
Brooklyn  Eagle. 

Like  all  Mr.  Jeremiah  Curtin's  work,  the  translation  is 
excellent.  —  New  York  Times. 

Mr.  Curtin  has  made  his  translation  with  that  exquisite 
command  of  English  and  breadth  of  knowledge  characteristic 
of  him.  —  Boston  Beacon. 

The  translation  is  beyond  criticism.  —  Boston  Home  Journal. 

The  style  of  all  the  pieces,  as  Englished  by  Mr.  Curtin,  is 
singularly  clear  and  delicate,  after  the  manner  of  the  finished 
French  artists  in  language.  — Review  of  Reviews. 

Mr.  Curtin  has  certainly  caught  the  verve  of  the  original, 
and  in  his  rendering  we  can  still  feel  the  warmth  of  the  author's 
own  inspiration.  —  New  Haven  Register. 

The  translation  from  the  Polish  of  all  of  Sienkiewicz's 
works  has  been  made  by  Mr.  Jeremiah  Curtin,  and  it  is  suffi- 
cient to  say  that  it  has  received  the  unqualified  praise  of 
scholars  both  in  this  country  and  in  England.  —  Boston  Horn* 
Journal. 


UO  ^"ie  ^terary  world  is  indebted  to  Mr.  Curtin  for  his 

»  admirable  work.  —  Milwaukee  Journal. 

The  translation  is  all  that  can  be  desired.  It  is  difficult  to 
conceive  that  the  book  can  be  more  effective  in  its  native 
tongue.  —  Cleveland  World. 

Mr.  Curtin  has  adequately  translated  the  complicated  plot, 
giving  full  scope  to  the  imaginative  qualities  of  the  author's 
genius.  —  Boston  Herald. 

Mr.  Curtin  in  his  translation  has  ?o  preserved  the  spirit  of 
the  original  that  in  his  English  version  almost  every  page  is 
eloquent  with  meaning. — Jersey  City  Journal. 

Mr.  Curtin's  translation  is  of  that  satisfying,  artistic  order 
that  one  always  expects  and  obtains  from  him.  To  the  reader's 
thought,  author  and  translator  are  one,  so  perfect  is  the  mutual 
understanding.  —  Boston  Ideas. 

It  is  a  good  deal  to  be  thankful  for  that  such  a  book  is 
made  into  the  English  language  ;  and  for  doing  that  so  famously 
well,  Mr.  Jeremiah  Curtin  is  entitled  to  the  blessings  of  a 
romance-loving  public.  —  Providence  News. 

Mr.  Curtin's  English  is  so  limpid  and  fluent  that  one  finds 
it  difficult  to  realize  that  he  is  reading  a  translation.  In  fact, 
it  is  so  perfect  that  one  never  thinks  about  it  until  he  has 
received  the  impression  which  the  author  intends  to  convey 
and  begins  to  ask  himself  how  the  impression  is  made.  Then, 
indeed,  he  perceives  that  he  owes  a  debt  not  only  to  the  author, 
but  to  the  translator  who  has  made  so  great  a  work  accessible 
to  him.  —  Philadelphia  Church  Standard. 

But  our  debt  to  Sienkiewicz  is  not  less  than  our  debt  to  his 
translator  and  friend,  Jeremiah  Curtin.  The  diversity  of  the 
language,  the  rapid  flow  of  th  "ught,  the  picturesque  imagery 
of  the  descriptions  are  all  his.  The  purity  of  the  English,  the 
accuracy  of  abstract  expressions,  the  specific  apposition  of 
word  to  object  is  remarkable.  The  work  would  stand  alone  as 
a  model  of  English  prose,  and  might  well  be  read  with  profit 
merely  as  an  example  of  combined  narrative  and  description. 
Mr.  Curtin  has  done  good  work  before  in  his  translation  of 
Sienkiewicz;  he  has  surpassed  himself  in  his  Englishing  of 
"  Quo  Vadis."  —  Boston  Transcript. 

No  brain  and  hand  were  better  fitted  by  nature  and  wide 
experience  to  assume  the  task  of  reanimating  the  work  of 
Sienkiewicz  into  English  than  those  of  Mr.  Curtin.  A  cosmop- 
olite, but  few  countries  in  the  world  have  escaped  a  prolonged 
visit  by  him,  and  indeed  he  is  the  complete  and  thorough 
master  of  seven  languages.  Thus  equipped,  and  unexcelled 
<is  a  linguist  and  man  of  letters,  he  has  given  us  the  unsur- 
passed translation  of  "  With  Fire  and  Sword,"  "  The  Deluge," 
"  Pan  Michael,"  and  the  lesser  romances  of  Henryk  Sienkiewicz ; 
and  now  the  supreme  effort,  "  Quo  Vadis."  Here  is  a  trans- 
lation indeed !  —  Boston  Courier. 


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